S/r 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


■iytf 


A     *    ■   *»  * 


MISSIONS   IN   EDEN 


Glimpses  of  Life  in  the 
Valley  qt  the  Euphrates 


\ 


BY 


MRS.  CROSBY  H.  WHEELER 

For  forty  years  a  Missionary  of  the  American 
Board  in  Harpoot,  Eastern  Turkey 


New  York       Chicago      Toronto 

Fleming    H.    Revell    Company 

Publishers  of  Evangelical  Literature 


Copyright,  1899 

BY 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 


Contents 

I 

PASS 

All  the  Way  to  Trebizond n 

II 

How  Christ  Came  to  Ararat 19 

III 
Fleeing  From  a  Deadly  Foe 25 

IV 
The  Prote  Konak 42 

V 

Armenian  Etiquette  and  Housekeeping  "A 
la  Frank" 50 

VI 

The  Story  of  Garabed  Baba 62 

VII 
"Woman,  the  Teacher  of  the  Race"  .    .    71 

VIM 

Touring  and  Bible  Women 90 

5 


3036122 


Contents 
IX 


PAGE 


How  the  Windows  of  Heaven  were  Opened,    99 

X 

"Euphrates  College" 109 

XI 
"Over  the  Taurus  Mountains"    ....  125 

XII 
Gregory  the  Martyr 149 

XIII 
Boghos  the  Hermit  and  Martyr  .    .    .    .173 


6 


List  of  Illustrations 


Mount  Ararat Frontispiece 

Moffas,  a  Method  of  Travelling To  face   27 


Harpoot 

Armenians  in  Village  Dress 

Armenian  Types 

Translators  of  Kurdish  Bible 

Euphrates  College,  Mission  Premises,  Harpoot 

Village  Scenes   

An  Inmate  of  our  Orphanage  .;.... 


4' 

59 

81 

102 

109 

•59 
190 


Introduction 

These  glimpses  of  missionary  life,  which 
friends  of  missions  have  urged  me  to  write, 
are  sent  forth  with  the  prayer  that  some  may  be 
helped  and  strengthened  by  them  to  do  more 
earnest  work  for  the  Master,  who  calls  every 
Christian  at  home  and  abroad  to  enter  His  vine- 
yard. Almost  fifty  years  of  labor  in  the  home 
and  foreign  field  have  convinced  me  that  the 
earnest  worker  will  receive,  even  now,  a  blessed 
reward.  What  will  it  be  to  hear  the  Master  say, 
"Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant;  .  .  . 
enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord  "  ? 

The  hope  for  the  future  of  missions  is  brighter 
to-day  than  ever  before,  and  with  joy  I  dedicate 
this  little  volume  to  the  Student  Volunteers  from 
whom  I  expect  so  much. 

Mrs.  C.  H.  Wheeler. 

"  Rouse  to  some  work  of  high  and  holy  love, 
And  thou  an  angel's  happiness  shalt  know  ; 
Shalt  bless  the  earth,  when  in  the  world  above 

The  good  begun  by  thee  shalt  onward  flow 
In  many  a  branching  stream,  and  wider  grown, 
The  seed  that  in  these  few  and  fleeting  hours 
Thy  hands  unsparing  and  unwearied  sow, 
Sh-'l  deck  thy  grave  with  amaranthine  flowers, 
And  yield  the  fruits  divine  in  heaven's  immortal  bow«rs." 

Cajuos  Wilcox. 
9 


Missions  in  Eden 


ALL  THE  WAY  TO  TREBIZOND 

In  1857,  the  American  Board  did  not  send  out 
their  missionaries  in  steamers,  but  in  sailing  ves- 
sels. On  the  second  of  January,  in  that  year, 
eleven  missionaries  went  on  board  the  Henry  Hill 
in  Boston  harbor,  bound  for  Smyrna. 

It  was  just  after  an  eastern  storm,  and  the  good 
ship  was  not  so  quiet  as  she  would  be  before  our 
journey's  end.  Ten  of  the  eleven  missionaries 
were  found  at  the  table  that  day.  It  was  mid- 
winter, and  the  tendency  to  seasickness  made  us 
all  hug  our  warm  wraps  about  us.  The  wind 
was  fair  and  the  ship  under  full  sail  sped  over  the 
waves  like  a  thing  of  life. 

The  next  day  we  were  all  out  on  deck  enjoy- 
ing the  wide  expanse  of  ocean;  for  this  was  our 
first  experience  at  sea.  Shut  up  as  we  were  in 
the  ship,  and  with  so  much  of  common  interest 
in  the  work  to  which  we  had  given  ourselves,  we 

were  not  long  in  getting  acquainted.     Some  of 

11 


Missions  in  Eden 

the  scenes  on  deck  and  at  the  long  table  in  the 
cabin  are  so  painted  upon  the  mind  that  they 
will  never  become  indistinct. 

Soon  we  were  in  the  Gulf  Stream  and  were  in- 
terested in  the  changed  color  of  the  water,  the 
cloudy  sky  and  continuous  lightning,  and  not  the 
least,  in  the  grateful  warmth  that  resulted  from 
the  current  coming  from  a  warmer  region. 

Every  day  we  found  something  to  interest  us, 
for  everything  was  new  and  we  were  ready  to 
drink  it  in. 

The  good  captain  was  also  ready  to  give  us  all 
the  information  we  sought,  and  the  days  were 
passing  very  pleasantly,  when,  one  evening,  we 
began  to  see  clouds  gathering  in  the  east.  The 
sailors  seemed  more  active  than  usual,  the  sails 
were  being  furled  as  the  wind  was  rising.  The 
captain  occasionally  used  his  glass  as  he  paced 
the  quarter-deck  with  a  quicker  and  more  nervous 
step.  Soon  darkness  shut  us  in  and  an  Atlantic 
storm  burst  upon  us  in  all  its  fury.  The  noble 
ship  pitched  and  rolled  fearfully.  It  seemed  as  if 
in  the  darkness  some  mighty  demon  with  his  ter- 
rible sledge  hammer  was  trying  to  send  us  all  to 
the  bottom. 

Were   we  sorry  that  we  had   left  the  quiet 

homes  behind  and  were  bearing  the  dangers  of 

12 


All  the  Way  to  Trebizond 

the  deep  to  carry  the  gospel  to  those  who  were 
in  darkness  ? 

It  was  gloomy  in  the  cabin  as  we  sat  and  lis- 
tened to  the  smashing  of  glass  and  the  noises 
made  by  everything  that  was  not  securely  lashed; 
and  we  ourselves  were  in  danger  of  being 
pitched  over  the  table  against  the  sides  of  the 
cabin.  Now  a  great  wave  breaks  over  the  ship, 
she  trembles  like  a  human  creature  and  for  a  mo- 
ment ceases  to  move.  Is  she  going  down  ?  Oh 
no,  she  has  eleven  missionaries  on  board,  and 
like  Paul  and  Silas,  they  are  singing!  He  who 
bade  them  go  and  disciple  the  nations  is  just  as 
much  in  the  ship  as  He  was  in  the  boat  on  Gali- 
lee.    How  could  they  be  afraid  ? 

For  forty  hours  the  strong  ship  battled  with 
the  storm,  while  we  were  shut  up  in  the  cabin 
which  was  almost  as  dark  as  night.  Once  the 
gangway  door  flew  open  and  the  water  came 
rushing  in  swashing  back  and  forth  across  the 
floor.  But  on  the  morning  of  the  second  day  we 
were  allowed  to  go  upon  the  lower  deck.  As  I 
expressed  a  desire  to  look  at  the  waves,  a  pow- 
erful man  said,  "Come,"  and  helped  me  to  the 
quarter-deck,  from  which  I  saw  the  most  glori- 
ous sight.  The  ocean  was  lashed  into  foam,  the 
waves,  tinged  with  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow, 

13 


Missions  in  Eden 

were  literally  piled  up  to  the  clouds.  Sometimes 
our  little  ship  mounted  to  the  heavens,  then  went 
down  into  the  great  yawning  depths,  where  it 
seemed  we  should  surely  be  swallowed  up.  It 
was  like  an  arena  where  ferocious  monsters, 
lashed  into  madness,  were  striving  to  destroy 
one  another.  While  I  stood  gazing  upon  the 
awful  and  grand  panorama,  our  captain  came 
along  and  said,  "You  wished  to  witness  a  storm 
at  sea;  you  may  be  satisfied  with  this,  unless 
you  are  ready  to  go  to  the  bottom."  I  was  satis- 
fied, for  in  awful  sublimity  it  far  surpassed  any- 
thing I  had  ever  imagined. 

After  the  storm  the  fair  wind  again  took  us 
swiftly  on  our  way,  and  the  captain  told  us  we 
should  soon  see  the  African  coast  and  far-famed 
Gibraltar  on  the  opposite  side. 

We  all  watched  eagerly,  and  the  glass  passed 
swiftly  from  hand  to  hand  when  the  captain 
pointed  out  what  seemed  like  only  a  little  cloud 
on  the  horizon,  and  told  us  it  was  the  northern 
coast  of  Africa.  Like  a  bird  we  sailed  through 
the  great  rocky  bulwarks  of  the  straits  of  Gibral- 
tar, and  found  ourselves  in  a  quieter  sea. 

We  were  soon   on   classic  ground,    and  our 

school  days  came  flocking  back  to  introduce  to 

us  the  places  about  which,  with  so  much  interest, 

14 


All  the  Way  to  Trebizond 

we  had  studied,  and  we  found  many  a  familiar 
name  all  clustered  over  with  the  sweetest  mem- 
ories. 

One  bright  morning  Malta  was  on  our  right 
and  Italy  on  our  left,  where  the  great  missionary 
to  the  Gentiles  had  labored  and  died.  Soon  we 
reached  the  shores  of  Greece,  whose  more  mod- 
ern history  had  aroused  all  our  indignation 
against  oppression,  and  made  us  feel  grateful  to 
the  nations  that  had  helped  her  in  her  time  of 
dire  distress.  There  the  favoring  wind  bade  us 
good-bye  and  we  drifted  almost  helplessly  up 
and  down  the  shores  of  Hydra,  till  one- of  our 
number  declared,  "If  we  stay  here  much  longer 
we  shall  all  have  Hydrophobia." 

After  fifty-nine  days  we  found  ourselves  enter- 
ing the  harbor  of  old  Smyrna,  where  one  of 
the  seven  churches  was  planted  and  where  the 
candlestick  has  never  been  removed;  for  the 
Christian  Church  has  never  been  extinct  in 
Smyrna.  There  our  happy  circle  was  broken. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  White  went  south  to  Aleppo,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Coffin  to  Aintab,  Miss  Dodd  stopped  in 
Smyrna,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morse,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Winchester,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wheeler  and  their 
daughter  Emily,  came  north  to  Constantinople. 

Smyrna  was  then  a  real  old  Oriental  city  with 

15 


Missions  in  Eden 

rickety  wharves  and  more  rickety  buildings; 
now  it  has  a  beautiful  breakwater,  fine  harbor, 
and  quays  which  would  be  an  honor  to  any  sea- 
port, while  the  whole  city  has  put  on  a  European 
appearance. 

There  we  took  steamer  for  Constantinople, 
and  enjoyed  the  trip  through  the  Grecian  Archi- 
pelago where  every  island  seemed  like  an  old 
friend  bidding  us  welcome.  Early  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  second  day,  we  hurried  to  the  deck 
that  we  might  not  lose  one  of  the  beautiful  views 
that  meet  the  eye  of  the  traveller  as  he  enters  the 
Golden  Horn. 

The  panorama  that  unfolded  to  our  gaze  far 
surpassed  what  we  expected,  and  we  do  not 
wonder  that  this  view  ranks  among  the  most 
beautiful  in  the  world. 

We  were  surrounded  by  yelling  men,  and  pic- 
turesque boats  seen  in  no  other  part  of  the  world. 
When  we  reached  the  quay,  the  beauty  seemed 
to  dissolve  into  dirty  streets,  brawling  men  and 
mangy  dogs.  Here  we  spent  several  weeks  with 
the  delightful  missionaries,  Drs.  Goodell,  Schauff- 
\er,  Dwight,  Riggs,  E.  E.  Bliss  and  our  own  Dr. 
Hamlin,  who  lovingly  received  us  to  his  home 
and  initiated  us  into  some  of  the  secrets  of  mis- 
sionary life.     In  Miss  Mary  Goodell  we  found 

16 


All  the  Way  to  Trebizond 

our  associate  for  many  years  and  in  Mr.  Mardiros 
Shimavonian,  of  Dr.  Hamlin's  Training  School, 
the  first  pastor  for  the  first  Protestant  church  in 
our  field. 

Early  in  April  we  took  the  steamer  up  the 
Black  Sea  ("The  Great  Bowl  of  Ipecac"  as  a 
noted  scholar  called  it)  to  Trebizond,  where  the 
women  wore  the  long  white  veil  like  a  shroud 
and  the  men  put  on  every  color  of  the  rainbow. 
Here  we  stayed  till  it  was  decided  at  the  annual 
meeting  at  Constantinople  that  we  should  go  to 
Armenia. 

This  old  Greek  city  of  Trebizond  is  the  place 
where  Xenophon  reached  the  sea  after  his  long 
and  hazardous  journey  with  the  ten  thousand 
who  were  saved  from  the  great  Greek  army  that 
invaded  the  Persian  Empire.  It  is  beautifully 
located  upon  high  land  sloping  to  the  sea,  and 
its  horseshoe-like  appearance  makes  it  look  like 
a  safe  harbor;  but  it  proves  to  be  the  most  treach- 
erous on  the  whole  coast.  Sometimes  in  a  storm, 
the  steamers  dare  not  stay  to  land  their  passen- 
gers, lest  they  be  driven  ashore  by  the  heavy 
waves.  The  evangelistic  work  here  among  the 
Armenians  has  not  made  the  progress  that  it  has 
in  many  an  interior  city.  The  people  are  sur- 
rounded by  many  influences   that  make  them 

17 


Missions  in  Eden 

more  worldly,  and  they  seem  more  satisfied  or 
preoccupied.  Like  their  neighbor,  the  Greek,  they 
love  better  to  hear  or  tell  some  new  thing. 

This  place  was,  a  few  years  ago,  the  centre 
for  Persian  travel,  but  the  more  enterprising  Rus- 
sian has  opened,  further  to  the  north,  a  railroad 
connection  with  Persia  and  largely  diverted  the 
trade  from  Trebizond.  Like  many  a  Turkish 
city  it  may  decline  more  and  more  till  it  loses  all 
of  its  former  position  among  the  great  cities  of 
the  Greeks. 


is 


II 

HOW  CHRIST  CAME  TO  ARARAT 

In  these  days  it  seems  hardly  necessary  to  add 
this  chapter;  but  I  have  been  urged  to  do  so  for 
the  sake  of  younger  readers. 

Armenia  is  a  high  table-land  among  the  Taurus 
mountains,  from  four  to  seven  thousand  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Its  boundaries  have 
varied  from  time  to  time,  one  author  giving  its 
extent  as  five  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  east 
to  west,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from 
north  to  south. 

Mr.  F.  D.  Greene  says,  "Armenia  is  a  large 
plateau,  quadrangular  in  shape  and  sixty  thou- 
sand square  miles  in  area;  about  the  size  of  the 
state  of  Iowa.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
the  Russian  frontier,  by  Persia  on  the  east, 
Mesopotamia  on  the  south,  and  Asia  Minor  on 
the  west."  In  the  marginal  readings  in  the  Bible 
(2  Kings  xix.  37)  it  is  called  Ararat,  and  this 
name  seems  to  have  been  used  at  one  time  for 
the  whole  land.  In  Jer.  li.  27,  the  prophet  sum- 
mons the  people  of  Ararat  to  combine  with  the 
Medes  to  overthrow  Babylon.    Others  tell  us  that 

19 


Missions  in  Eden 

the  name  came  from  Aram,  one  of  their  famous 
kings,  and  was  at  first  called  Aramia. 

Several  ancient  inscriptions  show  that  Ararat 
was  the  earliest  name  of  Armenia,  so  that  Gen. 
viii.  4,  "The  ark  rested  upon  the  mountains  of 
the  Ararat,"  read  with  this  understanding  refutes 
the  cavil  of  some  modern  travellers  who  say  it  was 
impossible  for  the  ark  to  rest  on  Mount  Ararat 
which  is  seventeen  thousand  feet  above  the  plain 
and  is  perpetually  covered  with  snow  and  ice. 
Mount  Ararat  is  situated  in  the  centre  of  Ancient 
Armenia,  and  has  always  been  a  place  of  great 
interest  to  European  travellers.  One  traveller 
says,  "Nothing  can  be  more  beautiful  or  more 
awful  than  its  height.  All  the  surrounding 
mountains  sink  into  insignificance  when  com- 
pared with  it.  It  is  perfect  in  all  points — no 
rugged  feature,  no  unnatural  prominence,  every- 
thing is  in  harmony,  and  all  combine  to  render 
it  one  of  the  sublimest  objects  in  nature." 

The  rivers  of  Armenia  are  among  the  most  in- 
teresting in  the  world.  The  great  Euphrates  has 
its  rise  in  Armenia  not  far  from  Mount  Ararat,  so 
also  has  the  Tigris,  (the  Hiddekel  of  Scripture). 
These  flow  onward  toward  the  Persian  Gulf,  not 
far   apart,  till  in  the  lowlands  of  Mesopotamia 

they  unite  their  waters  before  reaching  the  sea. 

20 


How  Christ  Came  to  Ararat 

The  Acampsis  of  the  ancients  (probably  the 
Pison  of  the  Bible)  rises  in  Armenia  and  flows 
into  the  Black  Sea.  The  Araxes  (the  Gihon  of 
Genesis)  flows  past  Ararat  and  empties  into  the 
Cyrus  which  flows  into  the  Caspian  Sea.  These 
facts  seem  to  be  in  accord  with  the  idea  of  the 
people  of  Armenia,  who  believe  that  not  only 
the  second  but  the  first  cradle  of  the  human  race 
was  in  Armenia. 

Armenia  has  also  many  lakes;  one  of  these, 
Van,  eighty  miles  long  and  forty  wide,  is  a  beau- 
tiful inland  sea  whose  changing  blue  waters  are 
a  joy  to  the  weary  traveller  journeying  over  the 
green  hills  and  valleys  toward  the  famous  old 
walled  city  of  Van,  situated  upon  its  shores. 

There  many  things  will  tell  you  of  a  civiliza- 
tion older  than  the  time  of  Babylon's  proud  king 
Nebuchadnezzar,  who  has  left  the  history  of  his 
warlike  greatness  on  the  citadel-like  rock  that 
must  have  been  the  key  to  this  city.  Perhaps  no 
region  of  Armenia  has  more  natural  beauty  or  is 
more  fruitful  than  that  around  this  great  lake. 
No  region  would  give  such  a  thrilling  history  of 
the  past  as  this,  if  it  could  only  be  written. 

Though  the  winter  in  Armenia  is  cold  and 
often  high  winds  prevail,  yet  the  fruit  is  abun- 
dant.    The  warm  sunny  valleys  produce  all  the 

21 


Missions  in  Eden 

fruits  found  in  the  temperate  zones,  and  with 
care,  some  that  grow  in  the  tropics  could  be 
easily  raised.  The  country  has  mines  of  silver, 
copper  and  iron,  and  abundance  of  coal  is  ready 
for  use  in  the  mountains,  which  will  be  a  great 
source  of  wealth  when  this  land  shall  be  governed 
by  a  nation  which  cares  to  develop  its  vast  re- 
sources. 

The  Armenians  are  not  Turanian  in  origin,  like 
many  of  the  races  in  Northwestern  Asia;  but 
their  language  shows  them  to  be  of  Aryan  stock. 

According  to  their  own  tradition  they  are  de- 
scended from  Togarmah,  the  grandson  of  Japh- 
eth.  Some  ethnologists  tell  us  that  the  word 
Togarmah  is  compounded  of  two  Sanscrit  words, 
Toka  which  means  tribe  or  race,  and  Armah, 
Armenia.  Armenia  was  the  name  by  which  the 
province  was  known  to  Western  or  European 
nations.  They  call  themselves  Haik  or  Haig, 
from  Haig,  the  son  of  Togarmah,  and  their  land 
Haiasdan. 

The  Armenians  were  closely  allied  to  the  Per- 
sians and  were  fire  worshippers  in  their  religion. 
Sometimes  they  were  strong  enough  to  have  an 
independent  kingdom,  and  then  we  find  them 
the  allies  of  the  Persians,  as  they  no  doubt  were 

when   Persia   invaded   Greece.     This   made  the 

22 


How  Christ  Came  to  Ararat 

Greeks  hostile  to  them.  Then  we  find  them  so 
intimately  allied  to  the  Parthians,  as  at  one 
time  when  they  had  a  Parthian  dynasty  on  the 
throne.  This  brought  them  into  the  great  wars 
between  the  Parthians  and  the  Romans,  and 
many  of  the  battles  between  these  nations  were 
fought  on  Armenian  territory.  Traces  of  the 
great  campaigns  of  the  Romans  are  still  found  in 
the  land. 

The  Armenians  believe  that  Thaddeus,  one  of 
the  disciples  of  Christ,  first  brought  the  gospel  to 
them,  and  that  many  then  received  it.  If  this  be 
true  they  went  back  to  their  idolatry;  for  it  was 
not  until  the  last  part  of  the  third  century  that 
they  received  Christianity  through  Gregory  the 
Illuminator,  the  royal  secretary  of  Tiridates.  At 
this  time  Christianity  became  the  state  religion. 
King  Tiridates  was  baptized  and  commanded 
that  his  people  should  accept  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. Many  of  the  nobles  opposed  the  king; 
but  he  prevailed,  and  the  Armenians  have  the 
honor  of  being  the  first  people  who  made  Christi- 
anity their  national  religion.  Henceforth  they 
were  cut  off  from  their  friendship  with  the  Per- 
sians. Thousands  laid  down  their  lives  under  the 
cruel  treatment  of  Sapor  II.,  who  determined  to 
destroy  the  Christian   religion   and  bring  them 

23 


Missions  in  Eden 

back  to  sun  worship.  He  slaughtered  them  in 
cold  blood,  and  even  built  a  tower  out  of  the 
skulls  of  the  Christians.  Afterward  an  Armenian 
bishop  built  a  city,  called  in  history  Martyropolis, 
over  the  place  where  so  many  gave  up  their  lives 
rather  than  return  to  idolatry.  The  old  church 
of  the  Martyrs  is  still  standing,  a  beautiful  relic 
of  ancient  Armenian  architecture. 

During  this  time  of  persecution  many  of  the 
Armenians  wandered  into  other  countries,  and 
finally  the  Turk  conquered  the  whole  land. 

The  sufferings  of  the  people  were  great,  and  so 
was  their  poverty;  yet  Christianity  did  not  die 
out  among  them.  Great  ignorance  prevailed,  but 
still  we  find  them  reaching  forward  for  something 
higher  and  better.  They  could  not  be  kept  con- 
fined to  the  field,  the  loom  or  the  shop;  but  some 
rose  even  to  dignity  in  official  service  and  became 
the  bankers,  brokers  and  merchants  of  the  land. 


24 


Ill 

FLEEING   FROM   A   DEADLY   FOE 

The  annual  meeting  at  Constantinople  decided 
to  strengthen  the  Mission  Station  at  Harpoot,  by 
sending  to  the  aid  of  Mr.  Dunmore,  the  lone  mis- 
sionary there,  who  had  written,  "The  Christians 
are  so  hostile,  that  any  day  I  may  die  like  a  dog 
in  the  streets,"  the  Rev.  O.  P.  Allen  and  wife,  of 
Trebizond,  and  the  new  missionaries,  Rev.  C.  H. 
Wheeler  and  wife. 

When  we  received  our  marching  orders,  we 
did  not  draw  back  because  of  the  danger  at  Har- 
poot, or  the  difficulties  of  the  way;  we  had  not 
expected  a  bed  of  roses  or  a  path  without  thorns. 
I  think  the  dangers  and  hardships  served  rather 
to  stimulate  us  for  what  was  in  the  future.  We 
had  heeded  the  Master's  command,  "Go  ye!" 
and  we  fully  believed  in  the  promise,  "  Lo,  I  am 
with  you  al way."    We  could  sing  — 

"  I  will  go  where  you  want  me  to  go,  Lord, 
Over  mountain  or  valley  or  sea, 
I  will  do  what  you  want  me  to  do,  Lord, 
I  will  be  what  you  want  me  to  be." 

What  days  of  planning  those  were  in  Trebizond 
as  we  made  ready  for  the  long  journey— thirty 

25 


Missions  in  Eden 

days  over  mountains,  valleys,  rivers,  and  hot, 
dusty  plains  in  midsummer,  for  it  was  now  the 
middle  of  June.  We  must  have  a  tent  for  our 
house  and  all  the  paraphernalia  for  eating,  drink- 
ing and  sleeping.  We  must  be  our  own  doctors 
in  case  of  accident,  or  what  was  worse,  poison- 
ous malaria.  So  the  medicine  chest  and  the  big 
doctor's  book  must  have  a  place.  Much  good 
advice  as  to  how  to  conduct  ourselves  on  this 
journey,  was  given  by  the  dear  missionaries  at 
Constantinople  and  Dr.  William  Goodell,  son  of 
"Father  Goodell,"  sent  us  some  special  informa- 
tion as  to  how  to  meet  some  of  the  sicknesses 
that  might  be  in  our  path. 

The  last  days  of  June  we  left  Trebizond  on  a 
palatial  Russian  steamer,  and  reached  Samsun, 
the  hot  bed  of  malaria,  on  Saturday  evening. 
Here  we  must  stay  till  muleteers  and  mules  could 
be  found  for  the  journey  to  the  interior  of  Asia 
Minor.  We  were  all  in  good  spirits  and  glad  to 
be  on  our  way.  Ready  if  need  be,  "to  burn  our 
ships  behind  us,"  we  bade  good-bye  to  the 
steamer  and  soon  found  lodgings  in  the  mission 
chapel  at  Samsun,  hoping  by  Monday  to  move  to 
higher  regions  where  we  should  be  safe  from 
malaria. 

Alas,  it  was  well  that  we  could  only  see  a  few 

26 


Fleeing  from  a  Deadly  Foe 

steps  ahead,  for  on  Monday  morning  one  of  our 
number  seemed  to  be  at  death's  door.  The  poi- 
sonous malaria  had  her  in  its  grasp  and  dysentery 
set  in  with  one  of  the  symptoms  most  to  be 
dreaded.  An  Italian  physician,  who  had  just 
buried  his  brother,  dying  of  the  same  disease, 
came  to  the  rescue,  and  after  a  few  days,  coun- 
selled us  to  get  away,  if  only  for  a  few  hours,  to 
the  higher  land  back  of  the  coast.  The  invalid 
was  able  to  be  dressed  and  lifted  into  the  Persian 
moffa,  which  is  a  basket  with  a  framework  like 
a  chaise  top  covered  with  cloth  to  keep  off  the 
sun.  Two  of  these  were  bound  to  the  back  of 
a  stout  mule,  little  Emily  was  placed  in  one  and 
her  mother  in  the  other,  the  weight  was  adjusted 
with  extra  baggage  or  stones,  and  the  caravan 
started  away  from  the  pestilential  city. 

It  was  afternoon  before  we  were  started  on  our 
journey  eastward.  The  more  bracing  air  was 
refreshing;  but  the  way  seemed  long  and  the 
shaking  in  the  moffa  enough  to  drive  away  even 
malaria.  Every  step  of  the  mule  was  becoming 
unbearable  when,  at  length,  we  reached  a  camp- 
ing-place, and  the  kind  husband  spread  his  rug 
on  the  ground  and  gently  lifting  the  impatient 
wife  from  the  moffa  placed  her  upon  it,  where 
she    rested    till  a   large,    comfortable  tent  was 

27 


Missions  in  Eden 

pitched  and  her  cot  bed  made  ready.  The  brac- 
ing air  and  a  good  night's  rest  wonderfully 
changed  the  invalid,  and  next  morning  she  rode 
with  more  comfort  to  the  noon  halting  place. 
The  breeze  from  the  Black  Sea  was  refreshing, 
and  the  very  shaking  of  the  moffa  acted  as  a 
tonic.  The  hills  and  mountains  were  covered 
with  trees  of  dark,  rich  foliage,  and  the  flowers 
in  the  pretty  dells  were  fragrant  and  beautiful ; 
the  water,  too,  flowing  out  from  the  springs  in 
the  rocky  hillsides,  seemed  to  have  life-giving 
power.  Would  that  this  bit  of  Eden  could  have 
followed  us  all  the  way  till  we  reached  the  Eu- 
phrates, one  of  the  rivers  of  Eden  where  our 
home  was  to  be! 

We  were  now  entering  an  inhabited  land,  and 
began  to  see  foot-travellers  and  here  and  there  a 
house.  "  Yes,"  said  the  good-natured  but  inde- 
pendent Turkish  muleteer,  "this  is  the  great 
city  of  Amasia  and  these  the  old  aqueducts  that 
once  carried  water  but  are  now  dry." 

We  pitched  our  tent  that  Friday  evening  near 
the  old  water  course;  for  we  were  to  spend  the 
Sabbath  in  Amasia.  Then  pulled  out  our  guide 
book  to  study  up  that  wonderful  old  capital  of 
Mithridates  the  Great. 

The  city  was  built  on  both  sides  of  the  Iris, 

28 


Fleeing  from  a  Deadly  Foe 

whose  dark  green  waters  gave  it  this  name;  but 
now,  for  some  reason,  the  muddy  look  prevails. 

For  the  Sabbath  we  entered  the  city  and  were 
directed  to  the  German  quarter  on  the  heights 
beyond  the  stream.  What  shouting  and  yelling 
we  heard  as  we  passed  along.  The  men,  women 
and  children  stopped  and  stared  at  us  while  we 
heard  them  say,  "Look,  they  are  Hat-wearers, 
Franks,  travellers  going  to  the  German  quarter." 

A  German  gentleman  received  us  kindly;  he 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Van 
Lennep  and  other  missionaries  at  Tocat,  now 
four  days'  journey  ahead. 

A  large  clean  room  was  given  us  whence  we 
could  study  the  old  city  and  the  wonderful  for- 
tress on  the  rocky  heights.  Far  up  the  rocky 
cliff  we  could  see  the  famous  tombs  of  the  kings 
of  Pontus,  and  on  the  plain,  just  beyond  the 
heights,  was  fought  the  great  battle  when  the 
Romans  conquered  the  mighty  army  of  Mith- 
ridates.  Here  in  Amasia,  the  German  had  intro- 
duced silk-worm  culture,  and  we  were  invited  to 
witness  the  feeding  of  the  industrious  caterpil- 
lars or  watch  them  as  they  prepared  their  silken 
shrouds.  Most  of  these  cocoons  never  develop 
into  butterflies;  but  find  their  way  to  the  looms 
of   Europe,  to   be  woven   into   fairy-like   silks. 

29 


Missions  in  Eden 

Soon  after  our  visit  here,  the  enterprising  German 
introduced  flour  mills,  that  now  send  flour  even 
to  the  homes  on  the  Euphrates. 

Monday  morning  we  bade  good-bye  to  our  kind 
host  and  hostess,  clambered  down  to  the  bank  of 
the  river,  crossed  the  bridge  and  went  on  our  way. 
The  sun  glared  down  upon  us  from  the  heights, 
the  road  was  dusty,  and  it  seemed  as  if  we  could 
hardly  breathe  the  dust-filled  air.  How  we 
longed  for  the  clear  water  from  the  mountain- 
side. On  and  on  we  travelled,  till  reaching  a 
muddy  stream,  the  muleteer  called  a  halt,  and 
there  we  stayed  till  late  in  the  afternoon:  it  being 
too  hot  to  travel  at  midday.  As  our  tent  was 
bound  to  the  loads  on  the  backs  of  the  mules  and 
the  chief  muleteer  would  not  give  it  to  us  with- 
out much  ugly  debate,  we  made  ourselves  as 
comfortable  as  we  could  under  a  dusty  tree  near 
the  bank,  and  with  the  muddy  water  made  our 
tea  and  washed  our  dishes.  The  muleteers  threw 
themselves  upon  the  dusty  grass  and  were  soon 
sleeping  soundly  while  their  tired,  hungry  mules 
nibbled  away  at  the  grass  near  by  or  drank  from 
the  stream. 

That  night  we  came  to  another  muddy  stream 
on  the  hot  plain,  with  a  village  not  far  away. 
The  half  naked  children  came  out  in  groups,  and 

30 


Fleeing  from  a  Deadly  Foe 

grinning  at  us,  cried  "Inglese!  Inglese!"  They 
came  too  near  to  our  tent  for  comfort  or  safety 
(for  we  had  discovered  that  things  disappeared, 
unless  our  eyes  were  upon  them)  so  as  we  had 
learned  the  "  Yawash,  Yawash,"  (Slowly  or 
don't  hurry)  and  "Haide,  Haide,"  (Begone,  hurry 
up),  we  cried  lustily  "Haide!  Haide!"  We 
were  told  to  see  that  nothing  remained  too  near 
the  sides  of  the  tent,  and  the  muleteers  watched 
the  loads  that  were  outside,  lest  not  a  rope  re- 
main in  the  morning  with  which  to  bind  them 
upon  the  pack  saddles. 

Day  after  day  we  rode  on  over  this  low  plain, 
with  here  and  there  a  Turkish  village,  and  noth- 
ing to  break  the  monotony  save  the  cry  of  the 
storks — we  often  saw  on  the  scrubby  trees  by  the 
streams  or  on  the  roofs  of  the  houses.  It  was 
easy  to  believe  that  these  people  were  made  of 
mud;  for  everything  betokened  it, — men,  women, 
children,  buffaloes  and  dogs;  yes,  even  the  air, 
the  earth,  and  the  water. 

With  what  joy  we  beheld  the  walls  of  Tocat  in 
the  distance  and  soon  came  into  the  region  of 
trees,  houses,  and  cleaner  -water. 

In  this  old  city  we   found   missionaries  and 

Christian  schools,  and  seemed  to  drop  down,  as 

by  magic,    into  its  gardens  and  clean  houses. 

31 


Missions  in  Eden 

What  a  joy  it  was  to  have  a  clean  face  and 
hands,  clean  garments  and  clean  air  to  breathe. 
We  did  not  wonder  that  the  next  day,  our  in- 
valid, who  was  again  prostrated  by  the  malaria 
of  the  low  plain,  under  the  influence  of  morphine 
sniffed  in  the  air  and,  looking  on  the  beautiful 
well-kept  garden,  declared  she  was  in  the  land  of 
Beulah  and  could  even  hear  the  songs  of  its 
birds. 

As  we  found  no  physician  here,  the  advice  of 
Dr.  Goodell  of  Constantinople,  "Opium  must  be 
your  sheet  anchor,"  was  most  opportune. 

Here  we  had  to  rest  for  a  few  days.  We  were 
more  than  half  way  to  Harpoot,  and  the  mule- 
teers were  glad  of  a  rest,  as  the  remainder  of  the 
journey,  while  cooler,  would  be  mountainous  and 
more  difficult  for  the  animals  as  well  as  them- 
selves. 

Tocat,  at  this  time  was  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing stations  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  Dr.  Van 
Lennep  had  purchased  a  large,  well-built  house, 
with  ample  grounds  and  a  beautiful  fountain, 
and  here  in  this  old  city,  where  the  sainted  Henry 
Martyn  had  made  his  grave,  was  the  Theological 
Seminary  of  the  Armenian  Mission. 

Perhaps  some  one  will  ask  why  there  should  be 
a  Theological  Seminary  here  for  the  Armenians, 

32 


Fleeing  from  a  Deadly  Foe 

when  it  is  outside  of  Armenia.  The  Armenians, 
after  the  conquest  of  their  country  by  the  Turks, 
scattered  into  all  parts  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  as 
also  into  Persia  and  Russia.  They  became  a 
much  more  progressive  people  than  they  had 
been.  Many  of  them  were  employed  by  the 
Turkish  Government  in  places  of  trust,  and 
proved  to  be  good  and  faithful  servants  of  their 
rulers. 

Missions  for  the  Armenians  began  work  first 
at  Constantinople  where  many  of  these  people 
were  found.  Dr.  Hamlin  opened  a  school  there 
which  grew  later  into  Robert  College.  A  Girls' 
Seminary  was  also  opened  which  is  now  the 
American  College  for  Girls.  The  Theological 
School  was  first  opened  there,  but  was  later 
removed  to  Tocat  as  being  more  central,  now 
that  the  Armenian  work  was  opening  in  the  in- 
terior of  Turkey. 

Rested  and  refreshed  by  our  stay  with  the 
missionaries,  we  started  once  more  for  our  still 
distant  field.  We  left  behind  the  picturesque 
city  with  its  fine  old  castle  on  the  heights,  and 
also  bade  good-bye  to  the  hot,  dusty  plains  of 
Tourkal,  and  to  the  muddy  streams,  for  our  path 
now  lay  among  the  mountains.  Up  the  Chamli 
Bel  (Pine  Mountain)  we  found  the  way  steep  and 

33 


Missions  in  Eden 

rough;  but  the  sweet  scented  pine,  bracing  air 
and  sparkling  waters  from  the  hillside,  made  the 
journey  much  more  pleasant,  and  we  felt  much 
like  the  birds  among  the  pines,  that  were  war- 
bling songs  of  joy.  As  we  ascended  the  weather 
became  so  cool  that  we  were  glad  to  pull  out 
some  of  our  bedding  to  use  as  wraps. 

That  night  we  pitched  our  tent  near  the  Turk- 
ish guardhouse,  for  this  mountain  was  the  abode 
of  banditti,  who  might  strip  us  of  all  our  belong- 
ings were  it  not  for  the  protection  of  the  guards 
placed  there  by  the  Turkish  Government.  The 
next  night  we  stopped  by  a  Kurdish  khan,  and 
when  we  had  settled  down  and  were  ready  to 
partake  of  the  evening  meal,  an  old  grey-bearded 
Turk  approached  bearing  what  proved  to  be  mad- 
%oon  (soured  milk),  "a  lordly  dish,  fit  to  set  be- 
fore the  king."  It  looked  very  inviting,  and  in 
after  years  would  have  added  much  to  our  scanty 
dinner,  for  some  of  us  learned  to  like  it  better 
than  ice  cream. 

One  of  the  gentlemen  rose  to  receive  this 
honor  from  the  old  chief,  who  presented  it  with 
the  air  of  a  courtier,  and  in  broken  Turkish 
thanked  the  donor,  who  was  too  polite  to  gaze 
at  the  "  Ingleese  "  ladies  or  stay  while  we  were 
eating.     We  all  tasted  of  the  inviting  dish,  but 

34 


Fleeing  from  a  Deadly  Foe 

no  face  expressed  pleasure,  and  at  the  close  of 
our  meal  we  discussed  what  we  should  do  with 
it.  While  the  discussion  was  going  on  the  chief 
of  the  muleteers  passed  near  our  tent  and  it  oc- 
curred to  us  that  we  might  honor  him  with  it. 
He  accepted  it  with  a  grin,  and  later  at  his  even- 
ing repast  we  realized  that  it  was  more  to  him 
and  his  men  than  the  most  luscious  dainty  would 
be  to  us.  "  De  gustibus  non  disputandum  est," 
laughingly  said  the  lady  who  years  later  declared 
that  this  mad^oon  was  more  palatable  than  ice 
cream.1  Soon  we  were  all  quietly  sleeping  in 
our  tent,  and  the  tonic  from  the  pine  trees  and 
the  mountain  air  made  us  oblivious  of  the  climb- 
ing of  the  day  before  and  fitted  us  for  the  steep 
mountains  that  lay  between  us  and  old  Sebastia, 
on  the  plain  below. 

Of  all  the  hardships  of  that  first  journey,  none 
has  left  such  an  indelible  impression  upon  me 
as  the  travelling  in  the  mountainous  regions. 
Sometimes  we  were  climbing  steeps  that  seemed 
almost  perpendicular,  and  we  wondered  how  the 
horses  or  the  men  ever  managed  to  cling  to  the 
sides.  How  often  I  would  shut  my  eyes  as  one 
man  led  the  mule  and  two  went  behind  to  steady 

1  This  mad^oon  (matsoon)  has  been  introduced  into  this  country  as  food 
partially  digested  for  invalids,  and  is  found  to  be  cooling,  refreshing  and 
invigorating. 

35 


Missions  in  Eden 

the  moffa,  or  as  we  passed  over  the  sides  of  the 
mountain  on  what  was  little  better  than  a  sheep 
path,  where  one  misstep  of  the  mule  might  send 
us  hundreds  of  feet  down  the  precipice  into  a 
roaring  torrent. 

Once  when  making  a  journey  to  the  northern 
part  of  our  field,  the  moffas  were  carried  through 
a  pass  in  the  mountains  upon  the  shoulders  of 
men,  and  a  strong  Kurd  took  me  by  the  arm  to 
guide  me  across.  His  leathern  sandals  made  it 
safe  for  him,  while  the  sand  constantly  gave  way 
under  my  feet,  and  I  should  certainly  have  rolled 
into  the  roaring  stream  had  it  not  been  for  his 
grasp.  He  kept  saying  "Korkma,  korkma" 
(Don't  fear,  don't  fear).  "If  you  go  into  the 
stream  I  shall  go  with  you."  The  very  ridicu- 
lousness of  the  comfort  made  me  laugh. 

Again  on  this  same  journey  we  must  cross  a 
swollen  stream.  I  left  the  moffa  and  was 
mounted  upon  a  powerful  horse  that  could  swim. 
One  Kurd  took  the  bridle,  another  was  to  hold 
me  on  if  need  be,  and  the  third  went  behind  to 
seize  the  tail  of  the  animal  should  he  be  carried 
away  by  the  strong  current.  I  was  told  to  shut 
my  eyes  or  look  at  the  opposite  shore,  for  I  should 
become  dizzy  if  I  looked  at  the  tumbling  waters. 
As  we  must  cross  this  stream  I  plucked  up  cour- 

36 


Fleeing  from  a  Deadly  Foe 

age,  shut  my  eyes,  and  was  landed  safely  on  the 
opposite  shore.  Such  journeying  is  not  the  most 
healthful  exercise  for  nervous  women,  and  I  do 
not  at  all  wonder  that  some  have  said,  "  I  do  not 
care  to  take  such  a  journey  the  second  time."  It 
has  happened  twice  in  Eastern  Turkey  that  the 
animal  has  taken  the  false  step  and  gone  down 
the  mountain-side  with  ladies  and  children  in  the 
moffas.  In  neither  case  however  were  the  ladies 
or  children  injured,  even  though  the  moffas  were 
torn  in  pieces  and,  in  one  case,  the  mule  killed. 
I  think  no  people  learn  so  thoroughly  to  trust 
God  as  the  missionaries,  and  He  has  kept  His 
promise  to  them,  often  in  a  wonderful  manner. 

We  must  return  to  our  journey  down  the 
Chamli  Bel.  We  came  to  the  great  marble 
quarry,  and  soon  old  Sebastia  (Sivas)  was  seen  in 
the  distance;  but  what  a  climb  we  had  to  get 
down  to  the  plain,  and  "  Yawash,  Yawash," 
(slowly,  slowly)  it  surely  was,  for  the  mule- 
teers were  careful  of  their  mules  even  when  they 
cared  little  about  their  passengers.  It  was  almost 
sundown  when,  away  off  on  the  plain,  we  saw 
two  horsemen  coming  on  a  gallop.  As  they 
approached  we  discovered  by  their  hats  that  they 
were  missionaries  coming  to  welcome  us. 

Few  save  missionaries  know  the  joy  of  greet- 

37 


Missions  in  Eden 

ing  fellow-laborers  in  a  strange  land.  We  for- 
got all  the  trials  of  the  way  as  we  entered  the 
city  and  wound  about  the  narrow  streets,  the 
projecting  houses  often  overtopping  our  heads 
where  a  narrow  lane  led  into  wider  streets,  till 
we  reached  the  home  of  the  missionary.  Yes, 
let  me  emphasize  the  word  home,  for  no  one 
knows  better  how  to  make  a  home  than  he  who 
has  left  all  to  be  a  missionary,  and  no  one  excels 
the  missionary  in  power  to  make  you  feel  at 
home.  You  soon  feel  you  are  all  brothers  and 
sisters  come  home  for  Thanksgiving.  For  the 
new  missionary  they  have  the  sweetest  sympathy 
and  for  the  old  the  profoundest  respect. 

"You  will  not  go  any  farther,  so  just  dismiss 
your  muleteers  and  stay  here  till  another  spring," 
said  the  missionaries.  "What  do  you  mean, 
brethren?"  asked  one  of  the  travellers,  with  a 
shade  of  wonder  in  his  blue  eyes.  "Why,  it 
will  be  dangerous  to  go  on  to  Harpoot  while  the 
Nominal  Christians  are  in  such  a  hostile  state. 
We  do  not  even  think  that  Mr.  Dunmore  should 
remain  there."  The  new  missionaries  replied, 
"  We  were  sent  to  Harpoot;  to  Harpoot  we  will 
go  according  to  orders." 

The  rest  among  these  friends  was  a  bit  of 
Heaven,  and  Harpoot  was  only  ten  days  away. 

38 


Fleeing  from  a  Deadly  Foe 

We  started  early  on  Monday  in  order  to  reach 
Arabkir  for  the  Sabbath.  Crossing  a  bridge  over 
the  Halys  we  began  the  ascent  into  the  moun- 
tainous regions  once  more;  for  we  were  now  in 
the  table-lands  of  Armenia.  We  were  now  fol- 
lowing the  military  road  of  the  Romans,  and 
passed  over  bridges  built  by  them,  and  cuts  ex- 
cavated by  them  when  they  went  to  fight  the 
Parthians. 

We  spent  the  Sabbath,  as  we  had  planned,  at 
the  beautiful  city  of  Arabkir,  nestling  down  be- 
tween the  hills:  the  rich  foliage  of  the  abundant 
trees  with  the  high  mountain  bulwark  behind 
them,  made  a  lovely  picture.  Then  it  was  de- 
cided that  one  of  the  resident  missionaries  should 
go  with  us  to  Harpoot.  We  sent  no  word  to 
Mr.  Dunmore  that  we  were  coming,  fearing  we 
might  be  prevented  from  entering  the  city. 

Monday,  about  noon,  we  reached  the  old 
Euphrates  and  sat  down  on  its  banks  looking  out 
on  its  stream.  Imagination  was  busy  with  the 
past,  when  the  old  scow,  looking  as  though  it 
had  been  rescued  from  the  debris  of  the  flood, 
was  paddled  to  the  shore.  We  were  soon  seated 
on  the  raised  platform  in  the  bow,  while  with 
much  yelling  and  gesticulating,  the  loads  and  an- 
imals were  brought  in. 

39 


Missions  in  Eden 

After  crossing  the  river  we  were  in  the  Har- 
poot  field  and  only  about  thirty  miles  from  Har- 
poot.  Gumush  Maden  (Silver  Mine),  where  we 
landed,  had  been  a  famous  old  town,  the  capital 
of  the  Pashalic,  but  the  seat  of  Government  had 
been  removed  to  Mezereh,  near  Harpoot,  and  the 
city  had  rapidly  become  a  ruin.  This  city  wit- 
nessed a  fearful  rebellion  of  the  Koords,  and 
thousands  had  been  slaughtered  on  the  banks  of 
the  river.  "  It  seemed  like  blood,"  said  one  who 
witnessed  it,  "and  all  the  roads  to  the  city  were 
made  awful  by  the  impaled  Kurdish  heads,  to 
show  the  people  what  the  Turk  could  do." 

An  easy  day's  travel  brought  us  to  a  village 
near  the  city  and  there  we  pitched  our  tent  for 
the  last  time,  near  the  wall  of  a  vineyard.  It 
was  late,  and  the  people,  weary  with  their  har- 
vesting, were  many  of  them  sleeping,  so  we 
quietly  took  our  evening  meal  and  made  ready 
for  the  night.  We  afterward  learned  that  this 
was  a  large  Armenian  village,  at  first  very  hostile 
to  the  missionaries,  but  later,  one  of  the  most 
progressive  and  hopeful  of  all  the  villages  on  the 
plain  of  Harpoot,  which  is  said  to  support  more 
than  three  hundred  villages. 

We  did  not  hurry  in  the  morning  as  it  was 
only  five  or  six  miles  to  the  city.     We  all  felt 

40 


Fleeing  from  a  Deadly  Foe 

excited  and  dressed  with  more  than  ordinary 
care,  that  we  might  not  shock  our  lone  mission- 
ary. In  less  than  an  hour,  the  chief  of  the  mu- 
leteers grinningly  congratulated  us,  while  he 
pointed  up  to  what  seemed  a  fortification  on  a 
high  spur  of  the  mountains,  and  said,  "Har- 
poot."  Soon  we  could  distinguish  the  outlines 
of  houses  with  a  tall  minaret  here  and  there.  At 
our  right,  as  we  passed  over  the  plain,  were 
several  cozy  looking  villages  nestling  among  the 
trees,  and  looking  more  inviting  than  the  rock- 
ribbed  city  so  high  up. 

We  wound  round  the  mountain-like  hill  to  the 
top,  and  were  directed  to  the  house  of  the  mis- 
sionary, which  proved  to  be  on  the  outskirts  of 
the  city.  Just  as  we  reached  the  large  gate  of  the 
court,  the  missionary  came  out  to  meet  us  with 
a  look  of  great  surprise  and  a  warm  greeting. 

Our  arrival  was  soon  noised  throughout  the 
city,  and  those  interested  came  to  bid  us  wel- 
come. Their  welcome  was  so  cordial  that  we 
felt  we  should  soon  find  friends  among  these 
strangers. 

One  woman  came  with  a  servant  bearing  a 
large  waiter  piled  high  with  the  most  luscious 
fruit,  and  the  friendship  then  commenced  was 
lifelong. 

41 


IV 

THE  PROTE   KONAK 

Mr.  Dunmore  had  been  in  Harpoot  only  a  few 
months.  His  wife's  health  failing  had  made  it 
necessary  for  her  to  return  to  America,  and  Mr. 
Dunmore  was  left  alone  with  his  Armenian  serv- 
ant. The  house  he  occupied  was  built  by  a 
wealthy  Armenian,  and  was  really  one  of  the 
best  built  houses  in  the  city;  and  almost  the  only 
one  at  that  time  that  had  glass  windows  or  the 
luxury  of  board  floors. 

Keshish  Oghloo,  the  builder,  was  an  Armenian, 
though  his  name,  which  means  Son  of  the  Priest, 
was  Turkish.  Being  wealthy  and  the  special 
friend  of  the  Pasha,  he  built  this  house  like  a 
Turkish  Konak — one  part  for  the  men  and  the 
other  for  the  women  of  the  family,  with  two 
outside  doors.  In  each  division  the  rooms 
opened  into  large  halls,  and  two  sides  were  sur- 
rounded by  a  court.  On  one  side  of  this  court 
a  door  led  into  a  passage  cut  into  the  rock, 
where  was  a  basin  which  received  a  stream 
of  pure  spring  water  flowing  out  of  the  hill. 
The    living    rooms    were    all    in    the    second 

42 


The  Prote  Konak 

story,  and  flights  of  stone  steps  from  the  outer 
court  led  up  to  the  large  halls.  The  lower  story 
had  large  rooms  devoted  to  stalls,  stables,  gran- 
ary and  a  wine  vat.  The  building  of  such  a 
great  house  had  ruined  Keshish  Oghloo,  and  to 
get  rid  of  his  creditors,  he  put  a  Turkish  family 
into  it,  and  left  for  Constantinople.  But  the  Turk 
refused  to  pay  rent,  whereupon  the  friends  of  the 
owner,  hearing  that  a  missionary  was  looking  for 
a  house,  came  to  Mr.  Dunmore  and  offered  him 
this  one,  hoping  he  would  find  a  way  to  get  rid 
of  the  Turk.  "I  will  take  the  house  for  ten 
years,"  said  the  far-seeing  missionary.  The  old 
Turk  soon  left,  and  this  Konak  became  the  birth- 
place of  our  first  church,  schools,  Theological 
Seminary  and  Girls'  Seminary.  The  lower  rooms 
on  the  street  were  fitted  up  for  a  chapel  and 
school,  with  two  missionary  residences  in  the 
upper  part. 

Mr.  Dunmore  received  us  very  lovingly  into 
this  castle-like  home.  "Here,"  he  said,  "you 
can  make  two  fine  apartments,  with  two  outside 
doors."  So  one  family  took  the  men's  apart- 
ments on  the  east,  and  the  other  the  women's  on 
the  west.  With  a  few  changes  these  were  made 
very  homelike.  The  addition  of  our  American 
furniture   and  fittings,   almost  made  us  forget 

43 


Missions  in  Eden 

that  we  were  in  the  interior  of  Turkey.  Mr. 
Dunmore  loved  to  bring  some  of  the  official 
Turks  into  the  parlor  to  hear  them  say  in  their 
deep  guttural  tongue  "  Mashallah! "  (Wonderful). 
Living  in  such  a  house,  among  such  a  people, 
gave  us  a  position  at  once.  We  have  always 
thanked  God  for  providing  such  a  home  for  us. 
On  this  same  land,  we  have  built  up  our  schools 
and  college.  The  Pasha  of  Mezereh  wished  this 
house  and  the  owner  urged  the  missionaries  to 
leave.  They  replied,  "Our  contract  is  still  good 
for  eight  years,  and  we  shall  not  leave."  Then 
he  offered  to  sell  the  property  to  the  missionaries 
for  less  than  its  cost.  But  where  should  we  get 
the  money  ?  God  had  provided  this  also.  Dr. 
Hamlin,  of  Constantinople,  heard  of  our  need 
and  offered  to  lend  us  the  money.  This  was  an- 
other blessing  coming  out  of  his  wonderful 
"bakery,"  established  at  the  time  of  the  Crimean 
War.  The  missionaries  paid  back  the  money  so 
kindly  loaned,  from  the  rent,  and  when  the  last 
payment  was  made,  turned  over  these  buildings 
and  the  land  to  the  American  Board.  No  one 
can  say  this  was  careless  use  of  money;  and 
could  they  have  seen  these  same  mission  grounds 
just  before  the   massacre,  with   all  the  college 

buildings,  and  the  trees  and  fountains  of  water, 

44 


The  Prote  Konak 

they  too  would  have  felt,  like  the  Harpoot  mis- 
sionaries, that  God  had  given  us  a  goodly  heritage. 

We  were  the  much  discussed  people  of  the 
city.  It  was  just  after  the  Crimean  War  and,  as 
"Inglese,"  (English)  we  were  respected  by  the 
Turks,  and  as  the  Protestants  had  been  recognized 
by  the  Government  as  a  separate  community,  we 
were  protected  in  our  civil  rights  and  looked  up 
to  as  the  honorary  heads  of  this  community. 

But  the  hostile  Gregorian  element  looked  upon 
us  as  innovators  and  warned  the  people  to  keep 
away  from  us.  Every  spare  moment  we  gave  to 
the  language,  for  without  a  tongue  we  could  not 
do  much.  It  was  rumored  about  the  city  that 
the  new  Hanums  (Ladies)  could  read  and  write. 

"Yes,"  said  one  of  the  men,  reporting  to  the 
women  of  his  house,  "these  newcomers  talk 
with  their  husbands  and,  I  am  told,  they  sit  at 
the  same  table  and  eat  with  their  husbands  I" 

"I  don't  believe  a  word  you  tell  me.  They 
are  young  women — and  who  ever  heard  of  young 
women,  even  in  the  rich  houses,  eating  with  the 
men!  The  old  mothers  do  sometimes,  but  a 
bride — who  ever  heard  of  a  bride  sitting  down  to 
eat  with  her  husband! " 

"Hazik,  Hohannes  Effendi's  sister,  has  been  to 
see  them  and  she  says  these  things  are  true,  and 

45 


Missions  in  Eden 

Sarkis  Effendi's  wife  went  to  call  and,  according 
to  custom,  had  her  servant  take  a  present  of 
fruit.  These  women  received  her  very  politely, 
and  she  says  they  are  not  wicked  women  who 
have  come  here  to  steal  away  our  sons  for  sol- 
diers or  to  destroy  our  church.  Our  priests  are 
certainly  mistaken  in  what  they  say  of  them." 

"O  brother  Hagop,  do  you  not  know  that 
Hohannes  Effendi  and  Sarkis  Effendi  are  Protes 
(a  term  of  reproach  used  for  Protestants),  and 
both  of  them  are  among  those  who  read  that 
Prote  Bible.  They  even  say  that  they  were 
among  those  who  joined  the  Prote  church,  which 
was  organized  by  that  stout,  black-eyed  Frank 
who  came  here  before  these  people  came.  Have 
you  forgotten  that  he  had  a  wife  and  that  she 
went  away  ?  These  women  will  go  away  in  a 
short  time.  I  heard  old  Hacher  Baba  say  they 
were  not  the  wives  of  these  men,  they  were  only 
hired  by  the  month." 

"Maireeg,"  (Little  Mother)  said  Hohannes,  "I 
wish  you  would  go  and  call ;  you  are  a  bright, 
discerning  woman,  and  I  am  sure  you  would  be 
able  to  give  me  a  true  idea  of  what  kind  of  peo- 
ple these  are." 

"Why,  Hohannes,  you  shock  me.  Do  you 
think  I  would  go  to  that  Konak  and  call  on 

46 


The  Prote  Konak 

women  that  our  Der  Baba  (Father  priest)  has 
warned  us  against?  Why,  I  should  endanger 
my  soul.  I  heard  that  Menas  Effendi,  going  near 
the  house  in  the  dark,  by  mistake  touched  the 
corner  of  the  part  they  use  for  a  chapel,  and  he 
went  home  and  washed  his  hands  in  soap  and 
water,  saying,  '  I  have  defiled  my  hands  by  touch- 
ing that  Prote  building.'  Then,  too,  Hohannes,  I 
have  heard  that  all  who  go  to  talk  with  them 
come  away  Protes.  They  give  them  a  kind  of 
drink  that  bewitches  them.  No,  indeed.  It  is 
impossible  for  me  to  call  upon  them." 

"  Dear  little  mother,  you  need  not  drink  the 
sherbet.  I  have  heard  that  they  are  not  accus- 
tomed to  give  it  in  their  land,  but  follow  our 
customs.  They  will  not  think  you  impolite  if 
you  do  not  take  it." 

"But  what  should  1  do  if  they  brought  coffee, 
because  I  refused  the  sherbet,  or  sweetmeats,  as 
surely  they  would  do  knowing  that  I  am  from 
the  great  Effendi's  house  ?  " 

"Oh  mother,  you  are  so  shrewd  that  you 
would  be  just  the  one  to  go;  but  your  arguments 
are  good  and  I  respect  them.  What  will  you 
say  if  I  tell  you  that  I  believe  all  the  things  said 
against  these  people  are  lies,  the  result  of  the  igno- 
rance and  darkness  of  our  people  ?  Look  into  the 

47 


Missions  in  Eden 

faces  of  these  men  and  women  and  see  how  pure 
and  frank  they  are,  more  like  the  angels  and  the 
dear  Christ  Himself!" 

"Hohannes!  Hohannes!  have  you  been  to 
that  Prote  Konak  ?  " 

"No,  little  mother,  I  have  not;  but  I  have 
watched  these  people  ever  since  the  day  they 
came  into  the  city,  and  I  am  persuaded  that  they 
are  not  what  the  priests  say  they  are." 

"Hohannes  Agha,  (Lord)1  I  beg  you  will  not 
breathe  this  before  your  father  or  grandfather; 
they  will  beat  you,  drive  you  into  the  streets 
and  bolt  the  door  on  you.  Coozig,  (Little  lamb) 
promise  me  that  you  will  not  go  to  the  Prote 
Konak." 

"I  will  promise  you  mother,  if  only  you 
will  promise  to  go  yourself." 

"Sometime,  if  I  can  find  an  excuse,  I  will  go 
and  learn  all  I  can;  but  your  grandfather  would 
be  angry  if  I  should  go  now,  and  your  father 
would  blame  me  too,  though  he  is  too  polite  and 
kind  to  beat  me." 

"Then,  little  mother,  I  will  promise  you  to 
wait;  but  do  you  not  see  that  we  are  ignorant 
and  need  enlightening  ?  Why  should  Dertad 
beat  his  wife  and  when  we  rebuke  him,   say, 

1  Mothers  often  call  their  sons  even  when  mere  children  Agha  or  lord. 

48 


The  Prote  Konak 

'She  is  only  a  chojuke  (a  child),  and  I  have  i 
right  to  make  her  obey — what  does  she  know  ? 
She  is  ignorant,  but  how  should  she  know  bet- 
ter ?  We  are  all  like  cattle  only  the  poor  women 
are  more  like  the  donkeys  that  get  all  of  the 
beatings." 

"Why,  Hohannes,  you  talk  like  one  of  those 
Protes !    Where  have  you  learned  these  things  ?  " 

"  I  have  heard  my  father  and  grandfather  talk 
about  these  people  with  Hovsep  Effendi,  and  I 
believe  they  are  more  than  half  persuaded  that 
our  whole  church  and  people  are  in  gross  dark- 
ness, bound  down  by  the  chains  of  superstition." 

"Alas!  alas!  my  heart  dies  within  me.  What 
are  we  coming  to  ?" 

These  discussions  in  the  families  about  us  were 
just  what  we  were  glad  to  hear.  If  we  had  been 
able  to  talk  with  them  at  first,  we  might  have 
committed  some  very  great  mistakes.  Now  we 
were  there  in  that  Konak  for  them  to  study  us, 
and  we  had  the  people  spread  out  before  us  like 
a  panorama,  as  day  by  day  we  studied  their  lan- 
guage and  their  customs. 

How   often  have  we   thanked   God  in   latter 

years  that  we  had  not  the  gift  of  tongues.     But 

you  will  ask— "Were  you  shut  out  from  the 

people  while  you  were  learning  their  language?" 

49 


V 

ARMENIAN     ETIQUETTE    AND    HOUSEKEEPING     "A     LA 

FRANK  " 

To  answer  your  question  in  the  last  chapter 
we  will  say,  We  neither  bolted  our  doors  nor 
"Kept  our  dogs,  to  keep  people  away." 

We  remembered  that  we  were  missionaries 
sent  out  by  the  churches  to  evangelize  the  people 
to  whom  we  were  sent. 

Whatever  we  found  that  was  good  we  were 
to  strengthen,  whatever  was  bad  must  be  rooted 
up. 

We  were  not  sent  to  change  the  customs  of 
the  people,  or  to  make  sport  of  them  because 
they  were  unlike  our  own.  Our  customs  were 
just  as  strange  to  them  as  theirs  were  to  us.  In 
fact  we  did  not  go  to  Americanize  the  people; 
we  soon  learned  that  many  of  their  customs  were 
better  for  them  than  ours  would  be.  For  ex- 
ample: we  were  filled  with  pity  for  the  poor  lit- 
tle babies  that  were  bound  up  like  little  mum- 
mies in  swaddling  clothes  and,  through  our  in- 
fluence, some  of  the  young  mothers  made  little 
dresses  for  their  babies.     What  was  the  result  ? 

I  really  fear  that  some  of  them  were  made  sickly 

50 


Armenian  Etiquette  and  Housekeeping 

and  perhaps  died  from  our  interference  with 
what  we  did  not  understand.  In  winter  they 
did  not  warm  their  rooms  with  stoves  as  we  did, 
and  the  children  were  not  protected  as  they  would 
have  been  if  bound  up.  Then  they  might  be 
treated  more  roughly  than  we  treated  our  babies, 
and  an  injured  arm  or  leg  might  be  the  result. 

We  learned  after  a  while  to  appreciate  the  first 
Turkish  word  we  heard,  "  Yawash  "  (Slowly). 

The  style  of  dress  was  wholly  Oriental. 
European  ideas  had  not  yet  reached  the  people. 
Our  dress  was  just  as  strange  to  them  as  theirs 
was  to  us.  They  did  not  wholly  accept  our 
way  of  dressing,  and  sometimes  they  would 
venture  to  criticise  and  ask  why  we  did  not 
dress  as  they  did.  We  always  replied  laugh- 
ingly, "We  are  a  la  Frank,  like  the  Euro- 
peans," and  they  would  reply,  "Yes,  you  are 
Inglese."  So  all  the  things  we  did  that  were 
new  to  them, — from  the  manner  in  which  we 
ate  at  table,  to  the  way  we  ladies  rode  on  a  side- 
saddle,— were  settled  as  right,  because  "a  la 
Frank":  and  thus  we  were  saved  from  much 
criticism. 

Some  of  the  manners  of  the  Armenians  we 
consider  very  beautiful.  The  manner  in  which 
they  receive  you  into  their  homes  is  more  grace- 

51 


Missions  in  Eden 

ful  than  ours.  You  are  greeted  at  the  door  with 
"paree  yegar"  (you  come  in  peace).  Then  as 
you  enter  the  reception-room  they  say  "Hramet- 
sek," — which  surpasses  in  meaning  any  one 
word  which  we  have;  but  which  gives  you  the 
right  to  the  place  as  you  give  the  right  of  the 
city  to  a  distinguished  guest.  Finally  you  are 
motioned  to  a  seat  of  honor — and,  as  there  are 
degrees  of  honor,  the  person  they  esteem  most 
honorable  (age  is  always  honored)  or  the  one 
who  enters  first  is  motioned  to  the  upper  right 
hand  corner  of  the  divan  where  there  are  extra 
cushions.  The  next  most  honorable  person  is 
assigned  to  the  left  hand  corner,  which  also  has 
the  extra  cushions. 

As  you  must  curl  your  feet  up  under  you  on 
these  cushions,  you  are  expected  to  leave  your 
outside  shoes  at  the  entrance  before  you  step 
upon  the  raised  carpeted  floor. 

In  most  of  the  houses  the  reception-room  has  a 
divan  on  three  sides  of  the  room  and  no  chairs 
are  needed.  This  arrangement  is  now  giving 
way  to  a  divan  on  two  sides  and  on  the  third,  a 
table  and  chairs.  When  you  are  seated,  the 
hostess  kisses  your  hand  and  bids  you  welcome. 
If  the  host  is  present  he  touches  his  forehead  and 
bids  you  a  thousand  welcomes,  and  asks  you  if 

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you  are  comfortable,  to  which  you  reply,  "  Thank 
you,  I  am  very  comfortable."  Then  all  the 
younger  members  of  the  family  salute  you 
silently  by  touching  your  hand  to  their  lips  and 
foreheads,  to  which  you  reply  by  saying, 
"Abrees"  (may  you  live)  or  "Shad  abrees" 
(may  you  live  long).  When  these  greetings  are 
over,  the  younger  members  of  the  family  leave 
the  room  or  stand  with  folded  hands  near  the 
place  where  you  left  your  shoes,  and  this  means, 
"  I  am  at  your  service." 

The  host  and  hostess  sit  down  on  the  divan 
below  you  and  say  politely,  lifting  the  hand  to 
the  forehead  again,  "  You  come  in  peace."  You 
reply,  "I  see  you  in  peace."  The  younger 
members  help  to  entertain  you  by  bringing  in 
sherbet  or  coffee  and  often  some  kind  of  sweet- 
meat, or  a  low  stool  is  placed  before  you  and 
upon  this  a  large  copper  tray  or  table  loaded  with 
fruits  and  sweetmeats.  These  things  depend  on 
how  much  your  hosts  wish  to  honor  you  and  on 
the  wealth  and  position  of  the  family.  Cushions 
are  placed  about  this  low  table,  and  the  hostess 
invites  you  to  be  seated  on  one  of  these  while 
she  seats  herself  to  serve  you. 

You  cannot  refuse  these  courtesies  unless  you 
are  very   intimate  with    the    family.     You  can 

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Missions  in  Eden 

often  make  this  entertainment  a  pleasant  intro- 
duction to  the  missionary  work  you  wish  to  do 
in  this  very  family  and,  if  you  are  wise  and 
courteous,  you  may  win  the  host  and  hostess — 
and  this  means  the  family.  When  you  leave, 
you  say,  "  Menak  paree"  (may  you  remain  in 
peace).  The  host  and  hostess  reply,  "May  you 
go  in  peace."  The  hostess  always  accompanies 
you  to  the  door,  and  sometimes  the  host  also, 
urging  you  to  come  again.  This  kind  reception 
may  be  only  Oriental  politeness;  but  generally 
the  people  feel  honored  by  your  call,  and  it  opens 
the  door  to  kindly  feeling  which  is  great  gain  in 
your  missionary  work. 

These  people  will  be  sure  to  return  your  visit, 
especially  the  women.  There  will  always  be 
more  or  less  that  will  interest  them  in  your  home. 
They  have  heard  all  about  it;  even  the  very  doll 
your  little  girl  plays  with  is  discussed  in  many  a 
home;  and  curiosity  is  strong  in  both  the 
Armenian  and  Turkish  women.  A  visit  to  a 
missionary's  house,  is  more  to  them  than  a 
whole  day  spent  in  the  city  visiting  galleries  and 
museums,  is  to  you. 

The  missionary  home  should  always  be  a 
model  of  good  taste  and  neatness.  The  mis- 
sionary comes   from   a  class  of   society  which 

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should  have  such  a  home;  and  here  it  is  that  the 
married  missionary  can  do  a  work  that  cannot  be 
done  by  the  unmarried.  The  influence  of  such 
a  home  is  and  should  be  a  very  great,  elevating 
and  converting  power. 

Teach  your  servant  that  you  are  always  ready 
to  receive  company,  and  that  he  is  to  conduct 
visitors  to  your  reception-room  with  the  greatest 
politeness.  A  cross  servant  may  undo  by  his 
ungraciousness  what  you  have  done  by  your 
polite,  loving  manner.  I  have  known  servants 
to  shut  the  door  in  the  face  of  callers,  telling 
them  the  "  Hanum  "  (lady  of  the  house)  was  at 
dinner  or  very  busy.  It  would  have  been  much 
better  for  the  Hanum  to  have  left  her  dinner 
untouched  than  to  have  offended  these  callers, 
for  she  will  never  have  the  same  influence  over 
them  again.  If  she  be  a  wise  woman  she  will 
find  a  way  to  treat  them  with  deference  without 
neglecting  her  family. 

Your  best  room  must  not  be  kept  closed  and 
the  curtains  drawn;  these  people  are  just  as  sen- 
sitive as  we  are,  and  know  whether  you  have 
honored  them  or  not.  They  will  pardon  many 
things  on  the  ground  that  you  are  a  foreigner; 
but  your  greeting  must  be  love,  lovingly  ex- 
pressed.    It  may  even  be  wise  to  adopt  some  of 

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Missions  in  Eden 

their  rules  of  etiquette,  only  keeping  enough  of 
your  own  to  dignify  you  as  a  foreigner.  Make 
them  to  feel  welcome,  remembering  that  every- 
thing is  as  strange  to  them  as  it  was  to  you. 
You  would  better  provide  the  tea,  coffee,  sherbet 
or  sweetmeat.  Tea  and  cake  are  always  appro- 
priate, and  cake,  being  "a  la  Frank"  you  will 
be  in  the  highest  style,  and  each  will  feel  amply 
honored. 

There  will  be  so  much  to  interest  them  that 
you  will  never  be  at  a  loss  for  a  topic  of  conver- 
sation. It  may  be  a  picture  on  your  table  of 
father  and  mother  in  which  t'hey  will  be  greatly 
interested.  They  will  ask  you  if  you  have 
brothers  or  sisters  who  are  left  with  these  par- 
ents. Then  with  real  feeling  they  will  ask  how 
you  could  leave  your  parents,  and  how  they 
could  let  you  come  so  far. 

Then  in  your  broken  language  you  will  tell 
them  what  brought  you  to  this  land,  and  you 
may  hear  some  of  them  say,  "Praise  God!" 
others  will  wipe  their  eyes;  and  still  others, 
when  they  leave,  will  press  your  hand,  and  you 
will  see  in  the  sweet  brown  eyes  gratitude  that 
will  more  than  repay  you  for  ever  leaving  dear 
friends. 

They  may  come  some  spring  day  when  your 

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reception-room  is  in  disorder — carpet  up,  win- 
dows being  washed,  etc.  Never  mind — let  them 
come  in — sit  down  where  you  are — take  time  to 
be  polite — remember  you  are  a  missionary  and 
the  Master  bade  you  "Go!"  At  such  times  I 
have  done  some  of  my  best  work.  You  are 
cleaning  house — how  easy  to  take  up  the  Bible 
and  in  their  own  language  read  Christ's  own 
words,  "Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they 
shall  see  God!"  How  naturally  you  can  show 
them  that  not  only  do  our  houses  need  cleaning, 
but  our  hearts  also.  You  will  find  at  such  times 
that  you  are  in  very  close  touch  with  the  Divine 
Master  Himself,  who  so  beautifully  made  use  of 
the  scenes  about  Him  to  instruct  those  who  came 
to  Him. 

They  may  come  when  you  are  in  the  kitchen 
teaching  your  servant  to  prepare  some  "a  la 
Frank"  dish  or  making  cake — for  you  have  in- 
vited the  other  members  of  the  station  to  tea — 
open  the  door  wide  and  ask  them  to  visit  you 
there,  till  you  can  remove  the  apron  and  go  to 
the  parlor.  Have  some  tiny  pattie  pans  ready 
and  spare  enough  from  the  light  sponge  to  take 
in  to  them  a  few  cakes.  They  saw  you  make 
this  cake  and  will  publish  among  their  friends 
what  a  clever  woman  you  are. 

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Missions  in  Eden 

You  say  you  care  little  what  they  think  about 
you  ?  This  is  all  wrong.  If  you  wish  to  in- 
fluence them  you  must  command  their  respect. 
The  respect  of  a  poor,  ignorant  peasant  woman 
is  worth  more  to  you  in  your  work  than  a  dia- 
mond crown.  You  may  save  her  by  your  in- 
fluence over  her,  and  her  soul  is  more  precious 
than  many  crowns.  I  can  never  forget  the  look 
of  joy  that  spread  over  the  face  of  a  very  igno- 
rant peasant  woman  as  I  opened  my  reception- 
room  door  and  bade  her  with  a  smile  to  enter. 
She  stood  for  a  moment  in  the  midst  of  the 
room  and  raising  her  hands  said  "Jannet,  Jannet" 
(Heaven,  Heaven).  Then  she  went  to  the  what- 
not and  took  up  what  she  recognized  to  be  a 
hen  and  said,  "Wonderful,"  (this  was  an  egg 
cup  that  had  been  given  to  one  of  my  children). 

I  let  her  look  about  as  long  as  she  wished,  then 
taking  my  pretty,  red-covered  gilt  Bible1  from 
the  table,  I  read  to  her  in  Armenian  the  wonder- 
ful description  of  Heaven  in  Rev.  xxi. 

She  listened  in  rapt  silence.  I  said,  "Sister, 
you  see  Heaven  is  more  beautiful  than  this;  the 
streets  are  paved  with  pure  gold,  and  the  great 

•Why  did  I  take  my  red-covered  gilt  Bible?  Because  the  influence  on 
the  poor  peasant  would  be  far  more  when  I  read  from  the  beautiful  book,  fit 
for  a  place  in  Heaven.  Missionaries  should  not  overlook  this  even  in  their 
dress.  1  am  sure  that  my  dress  has  often  preached  a  little  sermon  ;  and 
sometimes  it  has  been  reported  to  me.     We  want  no  untidy  missionaries. 

58 


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Armenian  Etiquette  and  Housekeeping 

gates,  larger  than  any  you  have  ever  seen,  are 
one  great  pearl.     Did  you  ever  see  a  pearl  ?" 

"Yes,  1  have  seen  a  very  little  one.  They  are 
very  costly.  What  a  beautiful  place  Heaven  must 
be!" 

"Yes,  very  beautiful,  but  as  no  unclean  thing 
enters  there,  you  must  have  a  clean  heart  and 
clean  life." 

That  poor  woman  will  always  think  of  my 
home  as  Heaven;  and  somehow  I  think  I  shall 
find  her  in  my  Father's  House.  I  think  it  was 
very  lovely  in  the  Lord  Jesus  to  send  her  to  my 
home,  and  how  glad  I  am  to-day  that  I  had  time 
to  let  her  in  and  to  talk  with  her.  She  was  from 
a  very  dark  village  up  in  the  Kurdish  Moun- 
tains, and  perhaps  this  was  the  only  time  she 
heard  about  Heaven. 

One  day  a  villager,  a  man  who  could  read, 
came  to  my  home.  It  was  very  cold  and  we 
had  kindled  a  fire  in  the  open  stove.  He  sat  and 
warmed  himself,  and  then  looking  up  to  me  said, 
"Lady,  your  home  seems  like  Heaven  to  me." 
A  few  hours  before,  I  had  come  from  a  ten  days' 
tour  on  the  plain  and,  as  I  looked  about  the 
room,  I  felt  much  as  he  did,  and  could  much 
better  comprehend  his  feeling  as  I  contrasted  this 
with  some  of  the  homes  I  had  visited,  many  of 

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Missions  in  Eden 

which  were  in  the  richer  villages,  and  some  of 
them  the  homes  of  preachers  and  teachers. 

Let  me  describe  to  you  the  home  of  one  of  our 
preachers.     He  and  his  wife  had  both  been  in  our 
schools  and  so  were  glad  to  see  me  when  I  vis- 
ited them.     The  very  best  was  prepared  for  me, 
even  to  killing  the   fatted   hen.     The  preacher 
saw  us  coming  and  came  out  to  meet  us,  while 
the  good  wife  stood  at  the  top  of  the  ladder-like 
stairs  to  help  me  up.     1  was  soon  seated  in  the 
cozy,  but  small  room,   built  on  the  side  of  the 
church,   which  served  as   the   parsonage.     The 
first  thing  I   saw  was  the  bookshelf  that  the 
preacher  had  made,  upon  which  his  few  books 
were    neatly    arranged.     Near   this  there  hung 
upon  the  wall  a  few  pictures,  some  colored,  and 
the  others  such  as  you  find  in  your  picture  pa- 
pers.    These  were  arranged  with  a  good  deal  of 
taste.     In  the  corner  opposite  was  the  pile  of 
bedding,  from  which  the  wife,  Yeva,  had  taken 
the  cushion  that  she  placed  at  my  back  to  make 
me    more   comfortable.     The  covering  for  the 
earthen  floor  consisted  of  a  coarse  matting  and 
the  small  piece  of  carpeting  upon  which  I  was 
sitting.     Soon  after  dinner,   one   of  the  young 
men  of  the  village  whom  the  preacher  was  teach- 
ing to  read,  came  in.     Looking  around  the  room, 

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Armenian  Etiquette  and  Housekeeping 

he  said,  "Hanum,  this  room  seems  like  Heaven 
to  me."  I  was  surprised  and  began  to  look 
about  to  catch,  if  possible,  his  point  of  view. 
The  room  was  clean  and  new,  had  books  and  a 
place  to  put  them,  and  a  few  simple  pictures. 
Yet  this  tiny  Christian  home  was  Heaven  in  com- 
parison with  his  own. 

It  was  very  delightful  to  increase  the  number 
of  such  homes  in  the  villages,  and  very  gratifying 
to  find  our  girls  trying  to  imitate  our  homes. 
We  had  taught  them  to  keep  their  homes  clean 
and  to  whiten  the  mud  walls  themselves  with 
white  earth,  and  not  to  wait  for  a  whitewasher 
whom  they  could  not  afford  to  pay. 

We  had  taught  them  to  press  the  beautiful 
flowers  of  early  spring  and  summer  and  to  ar- 
range them  in  wreaths  and  bouquets  upon  stiff 
paper  to  hang  upon  their  walls.  These  decora- 
tions led  them  to  care  more  for  their  homes,  and 
presently  the  time  came  when  their  own  children 
added  pencil  sketches  and  water-colors  which 
they  had  learned  to  make  in  our  schools. 


61 


VI 

THE  STORY  OF  GARABED  BABA 

A  portion  of  each  day  we  devoted  to  the  study 
of  the  language.  It  was  easy  to  learn  to  read 
Armenian;  but  our  tongues  had  to  practice  to 
enunciate  the  gutterals  and  our  ears  to  unravel 
the  new  sounds.  A  man  said  to  me,  "  Hanum, 
has  your  language  no  syllables  ?  When  you  talk, 
your  words  all  run  together." 

Smiling,  I  replied,  "That  is  just  what  some  of 
us  think  about  Armenian." 

You  must  study  and  read  and  "break  the  bones  " 
of  the  language  and,  by  and  by,  you  will  be  like 
the  blind  man  who  saw  men  as  trees  walking; 
then  if  you  have  carefully  laid  the  foundations, 
you  need  not  fear;  you  will  soon  learn  to  think 
in  the  new  tongue,  just  as  you  do  in  your  own, 
and  the  bands  that  bound  you  will  snap  asunder 
and  you  will  be  free. 

We  did  not  wait  to  begin  till  we  could  talk 
freely.  I  think  sometimes  our  earnestness  to 
make  the  people  understand,  when  our  vocabu- 
lary was  very  limited,  helped  us  to  make  an  im- 
pression. 

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The  Story  of  Garabed  Baba 

We  got  their  attention  perhaps  more  easily, 
and  the  impressions  made  were  deeper  and  more 
lasting.  The  fact  that  we  learned  to  read  the 
Armenian  so  easily,  always  helped  us,  especially 
when  we  labored  among  the  women  who  had 
never  learned  to  read:  and  I  might  add,  the  men 
also,  as  very  few  of  them  could  read. 

They  said,  "If  these  foreigners  can  so  easily 
learn  to  read  our  language,  then  we  ought  to 
read  it  ourselves.     We  can,  if  we  try." 

When  we  had  sufficiently  mastered  the  lan- 
guage, we  opened  a  school  for  boys  and,  very 
soon,  one  for  girls;  about  those  we  will  talk  later 
on.  Then  we  began  evangelistic  work,  the  men 
of  the  mission  going  to  the  market-place,  while 
we  women  went  from  house  to  house,  usually 
accompanied  by  one  of  the  Protestant  women 
from  the  neighborhood  in  which  we  visited;  for 
there  were  a  few  such,  the  wives  of  the  men  of 
the  little  Protestant  church  which  had  been 
formed  by  Mr.  Dunmore  before  we  reached  Har- 
poot. 

These  women  would  ask  their  neighbors  if 
they  would  not  like  to  see  the  "Inglese  Ha- 
nums"  ? 

Generally  they  were  very  ready  to  see  us  and 
would  treat  us  with  genuine  politeness. 

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Missions  in  Eden 

Only  once  was  I  treated  rudely  by  a  woman. 
She  was  seated  on  her  doorstep  and  would  not 
permit  us  to  enter.  In  a  loud,  angry  voice  she 
said,  "I  want  none  of  your  teachings — my  reli- 
gion is  good  enough  for  me — if  you  want  to  in- 
struct people,  go  to  the  Turks,  they  need  in- 
struction!" 

This  poor  old  woman,  whose  son  with  his 
wife  were  real,  earnest  working  Christians,  sof- 
tened greatly  before  she  died. 

In  the  Orient  the  people  discuss  every  new 
thing  in  the  market-place,  and  here  the  men 
could  find  listeners  and  did  much  of  their  visit- 
ing. 

When  I  had  to  pass  the  market-place  in  going 
to  the  eastern  ward  of  the  city,  I  took  with  me  a 
dear  old  Christian  named  Tallal  Garabed,  (Gara- 
bed,  the  Auctioneer).  He  was  a  marked  figure, 
very  tall  and  as  straight  as  an  arrow,  with  long 
white  beard  and  commanding  presence;  but  a 
perfect  Oriental. 

He  would  gracefully  raise  me  to  the  back  of 
my  white  donkey  and  then,  giving  me  the  rein, 
would  walk  close  to  the  right  side  of  the  animal's 
head  with  the  dignity  of  a  policeman  of  the 
"Grand  Guard."  I  was  never  afraid  to  go  any- 
where with  him,  and  thus  toured  over  the  dis- 

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The  Story  of  Garabed  Baba 

tant  parts  of  the  city  and  many  of  the  nearer 
villages.  Everybody  knew  him,  and  he  seemed 
to  feel  it  an  honor  to  protect  me. 

I  soon  learned  to  call  him  Garabed  Baba, 
(Father  Garabed).  He  would  come  and  tell  me 
that  certain  families  wished  to  see  me.  He 
would  take  me  to  these  families  and  then  retire 
till  I  was  ready.  He  knew  that  the  women 
would  talk  more  freely  if  he  were  not  present. 

"Hanum,  to-day  I  wish  to  take  you  to  see  a 
woman  who  is  bitter  against  the  Protestants; 
but  I  think  you  may  do  her  good.  I  fear  she  will 
not  offer  you  coffee;  but  you  will  not  mind  this." 

I  was  more  than  glad  to  go,  for  seldom  did  we 
make  a  visit  to  a  new  home  without  seeing  fruit. 
(Sometimes  it  was  only  in  the  greater  friendli- 
ness that  would  be  shown,  as  we  softened  down 
prejudices;  often  it  resulted  in  new  faces  being 
found  among  our  Sabbath  congregations,  or  new 
pupils  coming  to  the  schools.)  Judge  of  my 
surprise  when,  upon  entering  a  large  house,  I  saw 
a  well-dressed  dignified-looking  woman,  whom 
Garabed  Baba  introduced  to  me  as  his  wife. 

I  had  heard  that  he  had  no  sympathy  at  home, 
and  if  not  there  at  meal  time  went  hungry  to  bed, 
though  in  his  own  house. 

She  called  him  "The  Old  Prote";  but  he  who 

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Missions  in  Eden 

had  once  been  like  a  tiger,  and  would  have 
beaten  her  with  his  cane  for  a  far  less  offence, 
was  now  as  gentle  as  a  lamb.  The  two  elder 
sons  of  Garabed  Baba  were  grooms  in  the  family 
of  Sir  Henry  Bulwer,  English  Ambassador  at 
Constantinople.  They  were  both  tall  and  stately 
like  their  father,  and  Lady  Bulwer  always  ex- 
pected one  of  them  to  accompany  her  whenever 
she  rode  out.  The  youngest  son,  his  Benjamin, 
was  then  in  our  school. 

The  old  lady  rose  to  meet  me;  but  maintained 
the  frigidity  of  an  iceberg  during  our  entire  inter- 
view, offering  me  neither  coffee,  tea,  nor  sherbet. 

I  did  hear  afterward  that  she  was  pleased  with 
the  call;  but  she  did  not  mean  her  husband 
should  know  it.  I  called  only  once  more  upon 
her,  and  that  after  his  death. 

For  several  years  this  dear  old  man  was  my 
bodyguard,  as  every  Sabbath  and  Tuesday  I 
went  to  labor  in  that  part  of  the  city.  Some- 
times he  would  enter  the  room  quietly  and  sit 
near  the  door  while  I  held  my  prayer-meeting, 
mothers'-meeting,  or  missionary-meetings;  the 
latter  he  was  greatly  interested  in,  especially  the 
children's.  He  would  count  those  who  came  and 
tell  the  new  ones  present. 

He  learned  to  read  when  he  was  past  seventy, 

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The  Story  of  Garabed  Baba 

His  Bible,  hymn  book,  and  a  small  book  of 
prayers,  he  always  carried  in  the  bosom  of  his 
long  loose  garment,  bound  at  the  waist  by  a 
girdle.  He  loved  to  sing,  and  his  seat  in  church 
was  always  filled. 

We  perceived  that  he  was  becoming  more  and 
more  feeble.  One  day  he  came  and,  sitting  at 
my  feet,  placed  his  hand  on  my  lap  and,  looking 
up  with  his  beautiful  brown  eyes,  said,  "  Hanum, 
I  shall  not  go  with  you  any  more.  I  have  a  re- 
quest to  make  of  you. — When  I  die  put  my  body 
in  a  coffin  and  put  some  flowers  in  my  hand, 
just  as  you  did  in  your  little  D wight's." 

"I  will  do  all  you  wish,  Garabed  Baba;  but  I 
hope  you  will  stay  with  us  many  days." 

"No,  I  am  going  soon.  I  want  to  be  buried 
near  the  church  on  this  side  of  the  city,  and  I 
want  you  to  tell  the  pastor  to  sing  at  my  grave 
the  hymn  I  have  so  often  sung. 

"  'Joyful'yi  joyfully  onward  I  move, 

Bound  to  the  land  of  bright  spirits  above  : 
Angelic  choristers  sing  as  I  come, 
Joyfully,  joyfully  haste  to  your  home. 
Now  is  my  pilgrimage  ended  below, 
Home  to  the  land  of  bright  spirits  I'll  go  : 
Pilgrim  and  stranger,  no  more  shall  I  roam, 
Joyfully,  joyfully  resting  at  home.'  " 

One  morning  soon  after,  we  heard  he  was 
gone.     We  did  all   he   had  asked,  and  a  large 

67 


Missions  in  Eden 

number  gathered  at  the  church  for  a  last  good- 
bye. 

Not  many  years  later  a  bright  and  beautiful 
boy  stood  in  our  court.  He  had  come  to  ask  if 
he  could  enter  our  High  School.  We  had  never 
received  any  but  Protestants — what  should  we 
do  ?  We  knew  this  boy  was  from  the  house  of 
Tenikeji  Hagop  Effendi,  who  was  a  pillar  in  the 
Gregorian  Church.  Mr.  Wheeler  went  quickly 
to  his  associates,  saying, 

"The  grandson  of  Tallal  Garabed  wishes  to 
enter  the  High  School;  shall  we  not  set  aside  our 
rule  and  admit  him  ?" 

The  answer  was  in  the  affirmative,  and  Nicoos 
Tenikijian  was  admitted.  He  is  now  the  Pro- 
fessor of  History,  Turkish  and  French  in  Eu- 
phrates College,  a  noble,  handsome,  dignified 
Christian  man. 

I  love  to  think  that  the  grandfather  is  permitted 
to  watch  over  his  grandchild  as  he  labors  in  the 
work  once  so  dear  to  him.  We  missed  the  old 
man.  No  one  could  just  fill  his  place,  though 
our  good  Sarkis,  from  the  village  of  Ichmeh, 
was  ever  willing  to  do  all  he  could  to  help  us 
ladies  do  our  city  missionary  work. 

The  work  so  increased  on  our  hands  that  we 
felt  we  could  not  find  time  to  do  all  that  was  re- 

68 


The  Story  of  Garabed  Baba 

quired.  We  had  overcome  the  obstacles  to 
woman's  reading — obstacles  which  required  skill 
and  patience;  yes,  long  forbearing  love. 

The  older  women  usually  said,  "Our  brain  is 
baked — we  cannot  learn  to  read — our  brides  have 
work  to  do — reading  will  make  them  lazy  and 
impudent — we  never  learned  to  read — why 
should  they?" 

The  mother-in-law  rules  the  brides  with  an 
iron  sceptre;  her  word  is  law,  even  when  her 
son  would  like  to  have  his  wife  read.  Many  a 
mother-in-law  has  burned  the  primer  her  son  has 
brought  home  for  his  wife;  and  in  some  cases, 
where  the  son  has  insisted  that  his  wife  should 
read,  they  have  both  been  turned  into  the  streets. 

A  few  women  whose  husbands  were  Protes- 
tants came  to  our  rescue.  They  learned  to  read, 
and  not  only  encouraged  others,  but  us.  They 
helped  us  in  our  visits  from  house  to  house,  and 
in  our  prayer-meetings  and  mothers'-meetings. 
Some  of  them  became  so  efficient  that  we  could 
ask  them  to  lead  these  meetings. 

We  saw  that  prejudice  was  dying  out,  and 
found  that  many  of  the  women  wished  to  read. 
We  sent  little  boys  from  the  school  to  give  les- 
sons and,  if  the  pupils  made  progress,  gave  the 
little  teachers  a  small  remuneration. 

69 


Missions  in  Eden 

One  day  two  of  the  missionary  ladies  called  on 
a  wealthy  woman  of  position,  and  were  treated 
with  more  than  ordinary  politeness.  Before 
leaving,  one  of  the  missionaries  said, 

"  Eughaper,  Hanum,  you  are  too  much  of  a 
lady  not  to  read.  You  should  improve  your 
brains." 

She  replied  pleasantly,  "  It  will  be  hard  for  me 
to  read  as  my  mother-in-law  will  not  like  it;  but 
I  am  the  head  of  my  own  home,  and  if  you  will 
send  me  a  good  teacher,  I  will  learn." 

We  sent  a  young  Bible  School  student,  and  in 
less  than  six  months  she  was  a  good  reader  of 
the  Bible,  and  was  persuading  others  to  follow 
her  example.  She  encountered  the  opposition 
which  she  expected;  but  she  braved  it,  and  be- 
came a  very  useful  woman  in  the  Protestant 
Church,  which  she  soon  joined. 


70 


VII 

"WOMAN,    THE   TEACHER   OF  THE   RACE" 

The  missionary  must  be  a  many-sided  man, 
and  his  wife  must  be  his  equal  if  the  best  results 
are  to  be  secured.  That  "  anybody  will  do  for  a 
missionary"  is  an  exploded  idea  whose  origin  is 
not  hard  to  trace.  The  people  of  non-Christian 
lands  were  thought  to  be  ignorant;  but  we  have 
discovered,  through  our  better  understanding  of 
them,  that  this  is  not  true.  Pagan  nations,  or 
perhaps  we  should  say  barbarous  nations,  may 
be  ignorant;  but  this  is  not  true  of  the  heathen 
world.  All  missionary  experience  has  gone  to 
prove  that  the  best  educated  and  most  capable, 
as  well  as  the  most  devout  and  consecrated 
workers  are  everywhere  demanded. 

The  missionary  must  first  know  enough  to 
make  a  home,  and  that  in  a  foreign  land,  where 
conditions  are  such  that  he  must  often  be  archi- 
tect as  well  as  mason.  He  needs  some  knowl- 
edge of  a  good  many  trades,  and  must  possess 
financial  and  executive  ability  as  well,  in  order  to 
go  to  the  forest  or  market  and  purchase  the  right 
amount  and  kind  of  timber  for  his  buildings,  and 

71 


Missions  in  Eden 

thus  attend  to  all  of  the  details  of  construction, 
planning  all  the  while  so  that  he  shall  have 
enough  money  wherewith  to  finish  his  enter- 
prise. In  short  he  must  be  an  all-around  man, 
minister,  teacher,  lawyer,  doctor,  counsellor, 
guide,  and  friend. 

A  missionary  from  Japan  once  said,  "I  have 
found  everything  I  ever  learned  to  be  useful,  and 
regret  that  I  did  not  learn  how  to  milk  a  cow. 

"There  were  no  cows  in  this  country  when  I 
arrived;  but  not  long  after  the  parents  of  one  of 
the  missionaries  sent  me  one.  I  was  puzzled  to 
know  how  to  milk  her,  and,  in  my  dilemma,  had 
to  go  to  a  fellow-missionary  to  inquire  if  he 
could  teach  me."  So  even  learning  to  milk 
proved  useful. 

The  missionary  finds  himself  in  a  foreign 
country  with  everything  to  do  and  no  language 
to  do  it  with.  He  must  learn  the  language  un- 
less he  is  largely  to  fail  in  his  work.  To  learn 
a  new  language  so  that  one  can  use  it  intelli- 
gently in  speaking  and  writing  requires  much 
ability  and  study.  Young  men  or  women  going 
to  the  foreign  field  should  consider  carefully  be- 
fore deciding  and  should  perhaps  consult  those 
who  are  wiser  in  reaching  a  decision.  This 
would  save  them  and  others  much  pain. 

72 


"  Woman,  the  Teacher  of  the  Race " 

The  missionary  woman  will  find  use  for  all  the 
ability  she  has.  Whether  she  graduates  from 
Vassar,  Radcliffe,  Wellesley,  Smith  or  dear  old 
Mt.  Holyoke,  some  lessons  in  a  manual  training 
school  will  be  of  great  value  to  her,  as  she  needs 
to  know  the  secrets  of  modern  cooking  to  guard 
her  home  from  the  dyspepsia  fiend.  A  knowl- 
edge of  hygiene  and  nursing  will  save  her  and 
others  hours  of  pain,  and  will  fit  her  to  teach  the 
people  many  things  of  which  they  are  now  igno- 
rant. She  can  do  many  things  better  than  a 
man  if  she  is  well-fitted  for  missionary  work. 
Her  sphere  of  usefulness  will  be  so  wide  and  so 
varied,  and  the  demand  upon  her  so  constant 
and  exhausting,  that  above  all  else  she  will  need 
health,  for  without  health  she  will  find  it  hard  to 
fill  her  place. 

In  our  schools  the  work  increased  to  such  an 
extent  that  we  found  we  could  not  do  all  that 
needed  to  be  done.  What  with  the  Boys'  Primary 
School  increasing  rapidly,  the  Bible  Training 
School  able  to  admit  only  men,  the  Girls'  School 
in  a  room  on  the  house-top  taught  only  reading 
by  an  old  Priest  who,  though  he  thought  he  was 
a  Protestant,  finally  under  persecution  went  back, 
the  instruction  in  the  catechism  given  by  a 
young  woman  who  was  only  just  learning  the 

73 


Missions  in  Eden 

language  and  had  first  to  go  over  the  lesson  with 
her  teacher, — we  were  beside  ourselves  to  know 
what  to  do,  though  Mariam,  one  of  our  brightest 
girls,  was  able  with  the  help  of  the  missionaries, 
to  take  the  place  of  the  Priest. 

But  the  crisis  was  reached  when  the  Girls' 
School  increased  to  fifty  or  sixty  pupils,  and  we 
found  the  villagers  eager  to  send  their  daughters, 
and  we  had  neither  room  nor  teachers  for  them. 

We  met  in  council  to  talk  over  the  matter. 
The  gentlemen  said,  "These  Bible  students  also 
have  wives,  we  ought  to  bring  them  with  their 
husbands  to  the  city,  for  not  one  of  them  knows 
how  to  read."  We  asked  wisdom  from  Him 
who  sent  us  to  this  field  and  who  had  so 
blessed  our  efforts,  and  the  result  was  that  we 
voted  to  have  one  of  our  number  lay  the  case 
before  Dr.  Anderson,  the  foreign  Secretary  at 
Boston.  Dr.  Anderson  replied,  "Yours  is  an 
interesting  state  of  things  and  the  Committee 
have  voted  to  send  to  your  help  an  unmarried 
lady  as  soon  as  a  fit  person  shall  be  found." 
This  gave  us  new  courage  and  we  began  to 
plan  for  rooms  for  this  new  teacher  and  her 
school. 

The  room  in  the  lower  part  of  the  missionary 
residence  was  now  too  small  for  a  chapel,  and 

74 


"  Woman,  the  Teacher  of  the  Race  " 

was  sometimes  crowded  almost  to  suffocation. 
A  new  chapel  or  "church,"  as  Dr.  Anderson 
said  we  must  call  it,  must  be  built,  with  rooms 
for  the  Bible  Class  in  the  second  story.  The 
converts  had  helped  build  the  Primary  School- 
house  and  now  they  must  be  urged  to  have  part 
in  the  new  church.  Some  were  ready  to  give ; 
others  thought  the  gospel  ought  to  be  free. 
"Does  not  the  Bible  say,  'Freely  ye  have  re- 
ceived, freely  give'?"  "Yes,  we  have  given 
you  freely  the  spiritual  instruction  ;  but  you 
must  help  build  the  church  to  worship  in."  We 
had  taught  from  the  beginning  that  "  God  would 
help  those  who  helped  themselves."  Large  num- 
bers of  Bibles  which  had  been  sold  in  the  city 
and  on  the  plain  had  increased  the  demand  for 
schools  for  the  children,  and  these  parents  could 
and  did  help  some. 

The  result  of  our  combined  and  strenuous 
effort  was  that  the  church  in  Harpoot  was  soon 
finished,  with  aid  from  the  Board,  and  we 
thought  it  as  grand  for  us  as  the  New  Old  South 
or  Trinity  was  for  Boston.  The  six  strong 
pillars  that  supported  the  roof  seemed  far  more 
beautiful  than  the  most  elaborate  we  had  seen  in 
our  native  land.  The  height  enabled  us  to  draw 
a  long  breath,  which  we  had  hardly  dared  to  do 

75 


Missions  in  Eden 

in  the  old  chapel,  made  out  of  Keshish  Oghloo's 
stable.  Then  those  white  clean  walls,  the  neat 
gallery,  the  arched  windows,  a  new  Bible  and 
hymn  book  in  the  pretty  black  walnut  pulpit, — 
how  elegant  this  new  church  seemed  compared 
with  the  one  we  had  been  worshipping  in  ! 

One  of  the  missionaries  had  gone  from  house 
to  house  and  from  man  to  man  to  get  the  extra 
money  to  pay  for  a  board  floor.  Some  gave 
only  two  cents.  One  wealthy  man  (wealthy  for 
an  Armenian  in  Harpoot)  said,  "I  will  not  give  a 
para!"  (one-tenth  of  a  cent). 

"Very  well,"  said  the  missionary,  "if  you  do 
not,  I  will  bring  in  a  box  of  earth,  and  you  can 
sit  on  that,  for  we  shall  have  the  floor." 

The  man  yielded  and  made  a  good  contri- 
bution, for  he  knew  the  missionary  would  keep 
his  word,  and  he  would  have  no  right  to  com- 
plain. 

What  an  occasion  the  dedication  of  that  first 
Protestant  church  in  Armenia  was!  Crowds 
came  from  the  villages  on  the  plain,  and  the 
services  were  very  impressive.  It  had  no  debt  on 
it  when  we  consecrated  it  to  Heaven's  King. 
The  missionary  who  planned  it  looked  well  to 
the  appropriation  made  by  the  Board.  He 
obtained  the  best  material  and  the  best  work- 

76 


"  Woman,  the  Teacher  of  the  Race " 

men  he  could  find,  and  then  watched  over,  not 
only  the  money  in  his  care,  but  every  particular 
that  related  to  the  building.  He  did  not  lay 
aside  his  teaching  or  preaching  to  superintend 
this  building  ;  but  every  man  knew  his  eye  was 
upon  him,  and  he  detected  a  fault  quicker  than 
the  head  carpenter.  His  judgment  in  selecting  a 
cite,  his  ability  to  tell  what  the  cost  should  be, 
and  his  quick  eye  for  detecting  mistakes,  were 
invaluable  to  us. 

We  must  not  omit  to  mention  the  nice  airy 
room  with  four  windows  which  was  for  the 
Bible  Training  Class,  or  the  six  rooms  for  the  un- 
married students,  all  of  which  were  in  the  upper 
story  of  the  church,  which  upper  story  added 
greatly  to  the  architectural  effect  of  the  build- 
ing. 

Friends  of  Mr.  Allen,  who  had  charge  of  our 
Bible  School,  sent  from  Mt.  Morris,  New  York,  a 
sweet  toned  bell  which  would  do  for  the  schools 
and  the  church.  It  was  doubtful  whether  the 
Turk  would  allow  this  bell  to  be  rung  in  the 
place  of  the  bar  of  steel  we  had  used,  so  we 
thought  best  to  try  in  the  court  of  the  missionary 
house  a  smaller  one  which  would  eventually  be 
used  in  the  Girls'  School.  We  knew  an  in- 
fluential Turk  who  would  notice  this  bell  and 

77 


Missions  in  Eden 

would  perhaps  make  objections.  He  did,  but  the 
government  said  to  him,  "  It  is  on  their  grounds 
and  we  have  no  right  to  interfere."  Soon  the 
sounds  of  the  larger  bell  went  out  over  our  part 
of  the  city,  and,  after  some  complaining,  we 
were  left  to  ring  it  as  we  pleased. 

During  the  massacres  this  building  was  burned, 
and  we  well  recall  the  last  toll  of  this  bell  as  it 
fell  into  the  flames  when  the  roof  gave  way. 

The  rooms  left  vacant  by  these  changes  were 
put  in  order  and  fitted  up  for  a  High  School  and 
Seminary  for  Girls.  A  dining-room,  kitchen  and 
bath-room  were  added  to  these,  and,  on  the 
second  story,  two  rooms  for  the  lady  teacher  who 
was  expected  in  the  autumn. 

Here  commenced  the  Seminary  that  grew  into 
the  Girls'  Department  of  Euphrates  College. 
Perhaps  I  should  say  the  foundations  were  laid 
in  that  little  school  on  the  house-top. 

The  wives  of  the  young  men  who  were  stu- 
dents in  what  was  now  to  be  called  our  Theological 
Seminary,  were  brought  to  the  Girls'  Seminary. 
Some  of  them  had  learned  to  read  from  their  hus- 
bands and  seemed  earnest  to  make  progress; 
but  some  were  unwilling  and  declared  they  had 
so  much  to  do  they  could  never  learn  to  read 

well.     One  of  the  better  caste,  the  wife  of  a  man 

78 


"Woman,  the  Teacher  of  the  Race" 

who  for  years  afterward  was  an  earnest  pastor, 
had  been  the  mother  of  nine  children,  and  brought 
six  or  seven  with  her,  the  oldest  of  whom  went 
into  our  City  School.  This  wife  was  very  eager 
to  come  to  us,  and  made  commendable  progress, 
learning  many  practical  lessons  that  aided  her  in 
filling  her  place  of  Pastoress. 

Her  husband  was  very  anxious  that  the  new 
dress  he  was  to  get  her  should  be  a  la  Frank,  and 
came  to  ask  how  much  material  would  be  needed 
and  if  we  would  help  her  make  the  dress.  She 
looked  well  in  this  dress  ;  but  we  could  never 
teach  her  to  button  the  sleeves  at  the  wrist. 
When  reminded  that  the  buttons  were  put  on  to 
be  buttoned,  she  would  reply  with  a  smile,  "  O, 
I  forgot  it." 

To  enable  the  wives  to  come  we  opened  a 
nursery  for  the  children  who  were  too  young  to 
attend  the  school.  Some  of  these  wives  and 
mothers  made  such  progress  in  their  three  years 
schooling  that  they  not  only  learned  something 
of  Arithmetic,  but  even  a  little  Grammar  and 
wrote  simple  essays,  one  of  which,  on  "Female 
Responsibility,"  would  honor  a  pupil  in  our 
American  High  Schools.  This  woman,  whose 
name  was  Azniv,  labored  earnestly  in  the  Bitlis 
field,  and  two  of  her  daughters  were  among  the 

79 


Missions  in  Eden 

bright  pupils  found  in  the  Misses  Ely's  School, 
the  Mt.  Holyoke  of  Kurdistan. 

These  women,  who  knew  so  little  when  they 
came  and  who  only  spent  parts  of  three  years 
with  us,  became  most  efficient  colaborers  with 
their  husbands  in  the  village  work.  Wherever 
they  went  they  became  centres  of  light  to  the 
women.  With  their  Bibles  and  hymn  books 
they  went  from  house  to  house.  Some  they  per- 
suaded by  the  words  from  the  Bible,  others  were 
won  by  the  sweet  hymns.  The  little  boys  soon 
learned  some  of  these  hymns  and  went  singing 
through  the  streets,  childlike,  and  God  made 
use  of  this  to  soften  the  hearts  of  opposers,  and 
even  the  Turk  seemed  pleased. 

Schools  for  girls  in  the  villages  were  the  result 
of  these  labors.  It  was  true  that  many  a  Preach- 
er's wife  had  her  class  of  girls  in  her  own  home; 
but  family  cares  and  her  limited  knowledge  made 
her  feel  that  a  regular  Girls5  school  should  be 
opened  in  the  village.  Some  of  these  villages 
had  from  five  to  eight  thousand  inhabitants. 
Boys'  schools  had  been  opened  and  the  Preachers 
had  charge  of  these.  But  as  their  duties  in- 
creased and  they  became  the  Pastors  of  growing 
churches,  they  had  to  give  up  the  teaching  to 

young  men  from  the  Harpoot  High  School,  and 

80 


> 

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O 


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tn 

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as 


"Woman,  the  Teacher  of  the  Race" 

no  longer  would  the  mothers  send  their  daughters 
when  they  were  to  be  taught  by  unmarried  men. 
It  was  against  all  their  ideas  of  propriety.  So 
the  calls  for  Girls'  schools  increased  each  year. 
There  was  great  difficulty  in  getting  teachers  in 
those  early  days,  as  the  city  girls  would  not  go  to 
the  villages  to  teach;  and  the  parents  would  not 
consent  even  when  the  girl  herself  was  willing. 

It  was  the  custom  to  give  girls  in  marriage, 
often  at  the  age  of  eleven.  If  one  remained  till 
she  was  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age,  she  was 
stamped  as  a  "  dun  mena,"  one  not  worthy  of 
marriage,  so  "left  at  home."  No  mother  was 
willing  that  her  daughter  should  be  left  at  home, 
so  it  was  a  serious  question  how  and  where  we 
should  find  girls  who  could  or  would  stay  in 
school  long  enough  to  make  teachers,  either  in 
the  city  or  the  village. 

But  the  young  men  came  to  our  rescue  when 
they  woke  up  to  the  idea  that  they  needed  edu- 
cated wives.  They  said  to  their  mothers,  "You 
need  not  expect  me  to  take  an  ignorant  girl,  for 
I  never  will  consent  to  it,"  which  of  course 
greatly  shocked  the  mothers. 

All  the  matchmaking  was  done  through  some 

intimate  friend,  as  the  young  men  could  not  be 

allowed  to  talk  with  the  girl  or  even  see  her  face. 

81 


Missions  in  Eden 

This  friend,  when  a  girl  was  proposed,  was  ex- 
pected to  find  out  if  she  were  healthy,  if  her  eyes 
were  all  right,  if  she  were  industrious  and  obedi- 
ent. She  would  all  at  once  become  quite  inti- 
mate at  the  home  of  the  prospective  bride  and 
would,  in  a  woman's  skillful  way,  find  out  all 
she  wished,  and  often  more.  Many  amusing 
incidents  were  related  about  this  part  of  the 
courtship.  Thus  you  will  better  understand  the 
case  of  poor  Jacob,  when  instead  of  Rachel,  his 
beloved,  he  had  Leah,  the  tender-eyed. 

"Did  young  Armenia  conquer?"  you  will  ask. 
Yes,  she  completely  revolutionized  this  part  of 
social  life.  The  mothers  at  first  would  not  give 
their  daughters  to  Protestants  or  allow  their  sons 
to  wed  Protestant  girls;  but  soon  the  educated 
girls  were  all  above  par.  Village  mothers  were 
anxious  to  have  their  girls  go  to  the  City  school. 
Fathers  were  ready  to  pay  for  their  sons,  since 
education  opened  new  doors  for  them.  It  was 
a  great  thing  for  a  boy  to  teach  during  the  winter 
in  one  of  the  villages  and  bring  home  twenty 
dollars  in  his  pocket.  This  would  pay  for  a 
year's  tuition,  books  and  clothing.  The  board 
was  no  impediment,  for  he  either  boarded  at 
home  or,  if  a  villager,  he  boarded  himself,  bring- 
ing his  bread.,  dried  meat  and  cheese  from  home. 

82 


"Woman,  the  Teacher  of  the  Race" 

What  could  we  do,  you  ask,  to  supply  the 
calls  for  girls'  schools  in  the  villages  ?  We  can 
best  answer  this  question  by  taking  you  to  a 
village  home.  The  mother  is  a  widow  with 
three  children.  Let  us  go  in.  She  greets  us 
kindly  and  brings  us  a  cushion  to  sit  upon. 
There  are  few  comforts  in  this  dark  room.  The 
walls  are  black  with  the  smoke  of  years,  some 
of  the  timbers  in  the  roof  look  like  charred 
wood.  The  fireplace  is  in  one  corner  and  con- 
sists of  a  hole  in  the  earth  lined  with  flat  stones. 
Here  the  grass,  "which  to-day  is  and  to-morrow 
is  cast  into  the  oven,"  is  piled,  after  being  dried 
on  the  flat  roof  of  the  house,  fire  is  added,  then 
the  village  peat,  making  at  first  a  great  smoke, 
but  finally  a  hot  fire.  The  smoke  fills  the  room 
and  everything  is  scented  with  the  smell  as  it 
slowly  makes  its  way  out  of  the  hole  in  the  roof, 
which  is  also  the  sky  window,  only  one  other 
being  found  in  the  room  to  let  in  light  and  air. 

The  woman  sits  at  your  feet  upon  the  mat  laid 
on  the  earth  floor.  You  open  your  Armenian 
Testament  and  read,  "Let  not  your  heart  be 
troubled.  In  my  Father's  house  are  many  man- 
sions. I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you."  She  is 
weeping.  You  ask  her  why  she  weeps.  "I 
know  these  things  are  true,"  she  replies — "you 

83 


Missions  in  Eden 

are  reading  the  words  of  Christ — I  have  heard 
our  preacher  read  them — I  believe  them;  but  I 
did  not  learn  this  till  after  my  husband  died,  and 
I  am  afraid  he  did  not  know  that  Jesus  prepares 
mansions  in  heaven  for  those  that  love  Him." 
How  could  /  comfort  her  ?  I  closed  my  Bible 
and  asked  the  Lord  Jesus  who  loved  her  so  much 
that  He  died  for  her  to  bind  up  her  broken  heart. 
Wiping  her  eyes  with  the  corner  of  her  coarse 
apron  she  looked  into  my  face,  saying, 

"Hanum,  what  shall  I  do?  I  wish  very  much 
to  send  Markareed  up  to  the  City  school." 

"  What  can  you  do  ?  "  I  replied. 

"  I  can  make  over  the  bed  her  father  used.  I 
can  wear  his  stockings  and  give  her  mine.  She 
has  an  old  dress,  and  I  have  enough  blue  and  red 
home-spun  cloth  to  make  her  another.  Then  I 
have  the  yazma  I  had  as  a  bride  which  will  do 
for  her  head  covering.  I  can't  do  more,  except 
to  get  my  neighbor  to  put  her  on  top  of  a  load  of 
cotton  and  take  her  to  the  city." 

"Let  Markareed  come,"  I  said,  "and  1  will  do 
the  rest." 

God  never  requires  His  children  to  do  more 
than  they  can  and  I  was  sure  He  would  open 
the  way  for  Markareed.  She  came  and  made 
so  much  progress  that,  after  the  seven  months' 

84 


"  Woman,  the  Teacher  of  the  Race " 

schooling  under  the  American  teacher,  we  sent 
her  back  to  teach  a  Girls'  school  in  her  own  vil- 
lage under  the  care  of  her  mother. 

I  think  you  would  enjoy  coming  for  a  little 
time  to  the  examination  of  the  girls  at  the  City 
school  after  they  have  been  under  instruction  for 
seven  months. 

Here  comes  the  class  that  will  graduate  this 
year,  for  they  have  finished  their  three  years' 
course.  The  senior  class  is  small.  It  is  a  great 
thing  to  keep  girls  in  school  three  years,  and  I 
may  whisper  in  your  ear  that  all  these  seven 
girls  except  one,  who  is  a  hump-back,  are  en- 
gaged to  be  married.  The  hump-back  is  en- 
gaged to  help  in  our  seminary.  The  girls  are 
wide-awake  and,  looking  into  the  faces  of  their 
teachers,  pass  a  commendable  examination. 

Here  comes  a  class  of  rather  timid  girls.  This 
is  the  first  time  they  have  ever  been  examined 
before  men;  they  are  all  looking  down. 

Miss  B speaks  pleasantly  to  a  tall  girl  at 

the  head  of  the  class,  "  Markareed,  what  can  you 
tell  me  about  the  second  chapter  of  Matthew  ?" 

Markareed  raises  her  eyes  to  the  teacher's  face 
and  in  a  clear  voice  gives  a  satisfactory  answer. 
"Why,  we  have  seen  this  girl  somewhere,  and 
the  name  sounds  familiar.     Markareed?  Marka- 

85 


Missions  in  Eden 

reed  ?  Why,  she  is  that  girl  who  came  to  school 
on  top  of  the  cotton  bales — the  widow's  daugh- 
ter. How  she  has  widened  out!  How  pretty 
she  looks  with  her  hair  braided,  and  dressed  in 
that  clean  pink  calico  with  the  purple  jacket! 
Do  you  mean  to  say  that  this  is  that  ragged  girl 
we  saw  in  the  village  home  ?" 

Let  me  tell  you  how  she  got  the  pink  calico 
dress.  Her  mother  would  take  her  baby  brother 
on  her  back  to  the  wheat  fields  where  she  would 
leave  him  under  a  tree  in  the  care  of  an  older 
sister.1  Then  all  day  long,  in  the  hot  sun,  she 
would  follow  the  reapers,  just  as  Ruth  the  Mo- 
abitess  did,  gleaning  the  stalks  they  let  fall.  In 
the  evening  she  would  lay  these  on  her  house- 
top to  dry  and,  after  a  meal  of  cracked  wheat, 
cooked  with  a  little  butter  and  salt,  a  bowl  of 
butter-milk  and  some  dry  bread,  with  possibly 
an  onion,  would  spread  a  coarse  black  cloth  be- 
side the  wheat,  on  this  arrange  the  hard  mat- 
tress and  a  heavy  comforter,  and  cuddle  down 
beside  her  children  to  sleep,  while  the  stars 
seemed  to  say,  "You  are  safe  under  a  loving 
Father's  care."  At  the  end  of  the  harvest  she 
was  surprised  to  find  how  much  she  had  gleaned. 


1  This  little  boy  afterward  became  an  eloquent  preacher  and  was  invited 
to  a  city  church. 

86 


"  Woman,  the  Teacher  of  the  Race " 

"Markareed  can  have  a  dress  for  examination!" 
she  cried. 

Deacon  Garabed,  who  brought  her  on  his  load 
of  cotton  to  the  school,  was  present  at  the  exami- 
nation and,  when  it  closed,  came  to  the  lady  who 
had  charge  of  Markareed  and  begged  that  she 
might  open  a  school  for  girls  in  her  mother's 
house. 

In  the  spring  Markareed  returned  to  our  school 
with  a  little  money  in  her  pocket,  and  her  mates 
began  to  look  up  to  the  village  maiden  who 
knew  enough  to  teach. 

The  next  seven  months  added  much  to  the 
knowledge  and  gracefulness  of  our  pupil.  Again 
Deacon  Garabed  was  eager  to  hear  all  she  said, 
and  at  the  close  came  forward  to  claim  her  for 
his  village. 

"She  cannot  go  to  your  village  again,"  said 
the  missionary  lady. 

"Why  Hanum,  this  year  we  will  give  her 
more  pupils.  We  must  have  her.  The  Boys' 
School  is  full  and  the  girls  are  all  waiting  for 
Markareed." 

"Garabed,  we  have  kept  her  for  two  years  in 
our  school  and  she  has  learned  to  be  neat  and 
nice.  We  will  not  send  her  into  your  village  to 
live  in  that  black,  dismal  hole  for  four  months. 

87 


Missions  in  Eden 

She  is  wanted  in  the  large  village  to  the  west  of 
you,  where  we  have  a  pastor  who  will  receive 
her  to  his  neat,  clean  home,  and  the  people  are 
just  finishing  a  new  schoolhouse." 

"  Aman,  Aman,  Hanum  !"  (Alas,  Alas,  Lady) 
said  Garabed  with  a  much  disturbed  face. 
"  Give  me  five  dollars,  I  will  get  the  rest,  and  in 
a  few  weeks  we  will  make  ready  a  nice  second 
story  room  for  our  school." 

He  kept  his  word  and  a  few  weeks  later  we 
went  down  to  see  our  first  village  school  for  girls 
in  its  new  room.  It  had  three  windows,  the 
earth  floor  was  covered  with  coarse  reed  matting, 
and,  as  it  would  be  colder  than  the  lower  room, 
a  stove  stood  on  one  side,  arrangements  having 
been  made  for  each  family  to  furnish  the  fuel  by 
turns. 

This  was  not  merely  a  step  forward,  it  was  a 
long  leap  upward  in  the  social  progress  of  women. 
So  you  will  not  wonder  that  this  school  in  the 
village,  with  its  more  than  forty  girls,  and  with 
one  of  their  own  village  maidens  at  its  head,  was 
a  source  of  great  joy  to  the  missionaries.  We 
knew  that  this  leaven  would  work  till  every  vil- 
lage on  the  plain  should  have  a  Preacher  and  a 
schoolhouse  for  girls  as  well  as  boys. 

It  was  too  late  to   hinder  the   mothers  from 

88 


"  Woman,  the  Teacher  of  the  Race " 

educating  their  daughters.  They  said,  "We  are 
donkeys,  and  our  brains  are  baked,  the  day  for 
us  has  passed  by  ;  but  our  daughters  shall  go  to 
the  schools." 

Few  girls  were  now  sought  in  marriage  at 
eleven  or  fourteen.  The  old  maids  increased  so 
fast  that  fathers  as  well  as  mothers  were  in  ear- 
nest about  sending  their  daughters  to  school. 

"My  son  wishes  your  Mariam,"  said  one  well- 
to-do  Effendi  to  another,  "but  he  says  you  must 
send  her  to  the  school  for  girls." 

Educated  girls  from  the  peasant  villages  found 
their  way  into  city  homes  of  wealth  and  influence 
and  we  no  longer  had  to  seek  for  teachers. 
Now  even  city  parents  would  permit  their  daugh- 
ters to  go  to  teach  in  cities  four  to  six  days' 
journey  distant,  and  in  some  instances  these 
educated  girl  teachers  opened  the  way  for  Evan- 
gelistic work. 


89 


VIII 

TOURING   AND   BIBLE  WOMEN 

In  the  missionary's  work,  touring  from  place  to 
place  like  the  great  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  must 
be  a  prominent  feature.  He  must  have  a  home, 
but  he  cannot  stay  long  at  a  time  in  that  home. 
He  is  not  a  pastor  who  settles  down  over  one 
church;  he  is  an  apostle,  and  hundreds  of  places 
demand  his  labors.  Touring  may  be  the  hardest 
work  he  is  called  upon  to  do;  but  its  rewards 
are  great.  Some  of  the  finest  fruit  comes  from 
this  hand  picking.  He  must  leave  his  comfort- 
able home  for  cold,  smoky,  dirty  homes.  Here 
he  will  not  always  be  welcomed  and  will  be  glad 
sometimes  to  find  a  place  in  the  stable  near  his 
horse.  He  may  receive  insult  and  violence,  may 
even  be  stoned  and  obliged  to  leave  one  village 
and  seek  shelter  in  another.  How  near  the  Mas- 
ter seems  at  such  times  only  His  "Sent  ones" 
know. 

The  great  leathern  bags  that  take  his  bed  and 
bedding  hold  also  Bibles  and  Testaments. 
Primers— "The  key  to  unlock  the  Bible"— he 
carrries  to  scatter  broadcast  as  he  journeys. 

90 


Touring  and  Bible  Women 

Are  the  people  ready  to  buy  these  books,  or  is 
he  to  give  them  away  ? 

It  would  be  a  fatal  mistake  to  degrade  the 
Bible  by  giving  it  away  to  the  people.  What 
costs  nothing  has  little  value— is  true  among  all 
people.  The  Bible  given  away  has  been  used  for 
cigarette  wrappers;  but  no  man  who  has  learned 
the  worth  of  the  Bible  sufficiently  to  invest 
money  in  it,  will  destroy  it.  There  may  be 
times  when  a  Bible  should  be  given  away. 

What  can  we  do,  for  instance,  with  the  poor 
man,  who  hasn't  enough  money  to  afford  a 
Bible  ?  Help  him  to  earn  some,  if  we  can.  Get 
a  neighbor  or  friend  who  knows  his  circum- 
stances to  help  him,  and  help  him  in  part  our- 
selves. 

You  would  think  it  hard  to  sleep  in  your  wood- 
room  ;  but  the  touring  missionary  does  not  often 
get  a  room  as  clean  and  warm  as  that.  He  finds 
this  hard;  but  he  knew  when  he  gave  himself  to 
this  work  that  it  would  be  hard,  and  he  looks 
forward  to  the  reward  that  will  come  from  faith- 
ful labor. 

Every  tour  will  bring  a  rich  harvest  in  the 
coming  years.  We  who  are  living  under  the 
very  sunlight  of  the  Gospel  do  not  realize  how 
much  it  cost  the  missionaries  who  brought  our 

81 


Missions  in  Eden 

forefathers  the  light.  We  claim  our  Christian 
civilization  as  something  we  have  inherited;  but 
if  we  go  back  a  few  centuries  we  find  only 
paganism,  our  very  priests  offering  human  sacri- 
fices to  Woden  and  Thor. 

"Surely,"  you  say,  "the  lady  missionary  should 
not  try  to  tour."  But  shall  we  leave  our  sisters 
in  darkness  because  it  costs  us  something  to 
reach  them  ?  Woman's  heart  is  tender  and  she 
will  brave  more  even  than  men  for  those  who 
need  her.  The  women  cannot  be  reached  by 
the  men;  but  lady  missionaries  can  enter  all  the 
homes,  and  soon  find  their  way  to  the  hearts  of 
their  sisters.  The  Oriental  woman's  prejudices 
may,  at  first,  be  stronger  than  those  of  her  hus- 
band; but  she  is  usually  very  religious,  and  when 
in  a  kind,  loving  way  you  remove  her  prejudices, 
you  find  her  anxious  to  listen  to  the  words  from 
your  Bible.  It  is  not  hard  to  persuade  her  that 
woman  owes  much  to  Christ  who  did  so  much 
to  restore  to  her  what  she  lost  in  Eden.  The 
lady  missionary  is  indispensable  in  the  touring, 
just  as  she  is  in  all  forms  of  missionary  work. 
You  will  find  it  hard  work  at  first  to  persuade 
either  the  men  or  women  that  they  can  read. 
The  people  in  nominally  Christian  countries  have 
lived  so  long  without  the  knowledge  of  the  Bible 

92 


Touring  and  Bible  Women 

that  they  think  it  enough  to  believe  in  it,  though 
they  know  nothing  of  its  power.  Persuade  one 
man  or  woman  to  read  it  as  God's  letter  to  them, 
and  you  have  accomplished  much. 

A  few  years  have  passed  and  we  retrace  for- 
mer missionary  tours.  How  their  work  has  en- 
larged and  the  workers  increased!  We  find 
native  Preachers  and  Teachers  and  earnest  Bible 
women  in  the  field.  Many  Christian  communi- 
ties have  been  gathered,  and  these  have  grown 
into  churches.  Pastors  have  been  called,  schools 
have  been  opened.  No  longer  are  you  com- 
pelled to  sit  down  to  give  some  brother  his  first 
lesson  in  the  rudiments;  he  is  now  a  deacon  in 
the  church,  a  pillar  for  the  Pastor  to  lean  upon. 
Now  this  community  wishes  not  only  a  Boys', 
but  a  Girls'  school.  The  people  are  asking  for 
Bibles  and  other  books,  and  many  of  the  villages 
have  a  Book  Depository  and  are  doing  the  work 
you  once  did  single-handed.  They  are  working 
for  others  outside  their  own  village,  and  even 
women  go  to  neighboring  villages  to  give  the 
light  to  others.  The  homes  have  improved. 
You  will  find  some  houses  with  a  second  story 
room  and  glass  windows.  "The  entrance  of 
Thy  Word  giveth  light,"  has  proven  true  in  many 
ways.     The  father,  mother  and  children  are  now 

93 


Missions  in  Eden 

reading,  and  the  dark  rooms  must  give  place  to 
those  with  more  windows. 

The  native  Pastor  is  now  living  in  a  house  with 
several  rooms,  so  that  you  are  no  longer  com- 
pelled to  stay  in  the  stable  near  the  cattle  to  keep 
warm;  for  in  these  clean,  upper  rooms  you  will 
even  find  a  stove  and  often  a  raised  and  cushioned 
divan. 

Old  and  young  will  be  found  in  the  Sunday- 
school,  and  you  may  even  find  a  Christian  En- 
deavor Society.  The  young  men  are  enthusiastic 
in  selling  Bibles  and  other  books,  and  they  tell 
you  with  great  joy  of  their  successes.  They 
have  the  money  all  ready  for  another  order,  and 
wish  to  know  if  you  have  any  new  book  from 
Constantinople  which  they  have  not  seen. 

Come  for  a  moment  to  the  dark  village  of 
Hulakegh,  where  once  the  people  were  so  hostile 
that  the  missionary's  life  was  in  danger.  They 
even  plotted  to  prove  him  immoral  by  concealing 
an  immoral  Turkish  woman  in  the  house  where 
he  was  spending  the  night,  and  then  calling  the 
people  to  see  for  themselves  what  kind  of  re- 
ligious teacher  this  missionary  was.  There  now 
is  a  church  owning  a  good  building  and  parson- 
age. They  have  a  Girls'  and  Boys'  school — Sab- 
bath   School,    Prayer    Meeting   and    Missionary 

94 


Touring  and  Bible  Women 

Society— for  they  feel  that  having  received  the 
gospel  they  must  send  it  to  those  who  have  it 
not  in  dark  Kurdistan  where  the  churches  have  a 
missionary  field.  I  can  recall  the  day  when  not 
one  woman  could  be  persuaded  to  read  the  Bible 
or  to  come  to  church  here.  We  had  reached  the 
men,  but  not  one  woman  dared  to  enter  the 
Protestant  church. 

The  new  Hulakegh  chapel  was  to  be  dedi- 
cated and  the  missionaries  asked  their  lady  as- 
sistants to  go  and  to  invite  some  of  their  city 
sisters  to  go  with  them.  As  animals  were  pro- 
vided, several  were  glad  to  go.  When  we  had 
entered  the  chapel  we  saw  that  some  space  had 
been  reserved  for  us  in  the  back  part  of  the  room 
behind  the  men.  Soon  after  we  had  taken  our 
seats  it  was  noised  abroad  that  the  missionary 
ladies  had  come  from  the  city.  Presently  we 
saw  a  woman  look  in  shyly  at  the  door,  then 
she  took  off  her  shoes  and,  bending  low,  shot 
past  the  men  and  took  her  seat  on  the  floor  be- 
hind us.  This  continued  till  the  space  reserved 
for  the  women  was  well  filled. 

This  village  afterward  became  noted  for  its 
reading  women,  and  the  men  of  other  villages 
would  say,  "If  you  want  a  wife  for  your  son, 
get  her  from  Hulakegh  where  she  can  read  and 

95 


Missions  in  Eden 

do  twice  as  much  as  other  women."  This  same 
village  was  among  the  first  to  call  for  a  Preacher 
when  their  Pastor  elect  had  been  killed  in  the 
massacres,  and  now  that  church  is  fast  coming 
up  again  to  self-support,  even  in  these  almost 
starving  times  when  homes,  though  not  de- 
stroyed, are  desolate. 

The  next  village  has  called  for  the  exercise  of 
great  patience  and  the  missionaries  have  often 
wondered  if  any  real  good  was  being  done  there. 
Shall  I  tell  you  why  ?  The  men  are  made  ugly 
and  stupid  by  the  free  use  of  wine  and  raki  and, 
as  a  missionary  once  said,  "  The  Spirit  of  God 
never  stays  where  wine  or  raki  enter." 

We  have  there  a  good  Bible  woman,  our  ear- 
nest Marinos,  for  whom  some  of  you  have  given 
money. 

She  has  many  hard  things  to  bear  at  home;  but 
she  finds  time  to  be  a  most  efficient  helper  of  the 
earnest  wife  of  the  Preacher.  She  rises  early  to 
set  her  house  in  order  and  then  leaves  it  to  the 
care  of  her  sister-in-law,  while  she  goes  out  to 
persuade  the  women  to  read  the  Bible,  and  to 
give  her  daily  lessons. 

The  touring  missionary  lady  looks  after  the 
work  of  the  Bible  women,  and  each  Bible  woman 
is  expected  to  keep  an  account  of  every  lesson 

96 


Touring  and  Bible  Women 

given.  The  pupils  are  examined  to  see  if  prog- 
ress has  been  made,  if  not,  the  Bible  woman  is 
reprimanded,  and  if  she  does  not  do  better,  is 
dropped.  We  do  not  allow  any  part  of  the 
work  to  be  done  in  a  slipshod  way,  for  this 
would  only  be  to  lay  our  foundation  with  rotten 
timber,  and  might  involve  the  loss  of  the  souls 
we  are  trying  to  bring  to  the  light. 

I  think  you  would  like  to  hear  what  the  tour- 
ing missionary  has  just  written  of  our  good  Bible 
woman  in  another  village  which  suffered  much 
from  the  massacres.  This  woman  was  stripped 
of  most  of  her  clothing,  and  wandered  for  days 
through  the  fields  till  she  reached  Harpoot,  where 
she  had  a  son  in  college.  He  heard  she  was 
coming  and  went  to  meet  her.  She  was 
half  naked  and  barefoot  in  the  snows  of  De- 
cember. She  had  lived  on  the  winter  wheat 
which  was  just  springing  up  under  the  snow.  He 
threw  his  coat  about  her  and  brought  her  to  the 
city  where  she  was  lovingly  cared  for.  When 
March  came  she  could  not  be  persuaded  to  stay 
longer  in  the  city;  but  returned  to  her  village, 
saying,  "They  have  no  one  to  labor  for  them 
and  they  need  comfort  now,  they  are  so 
wretched  in  their  desolate,  half-burned  houses." 
The  missionary  says,  "  We  were  greatly  cheered 

97 


Missions  in  Eden 

by  the  welcome  this  village  gave  us,  especially  by 
what  our  faithful  Bible  woman,  Badaskhan  has 
done.  She  is  Pastor,  Teacher  and  Counsellor 
here,  doing  a  grand  work."  Do  you  wonder 
the  missionary  now  feels  repaid  for  days  of  toil 
when  he  sees  the  abundant,  ripe  fruit  that  has 
come  from  this  earlier  sowing  ? 


98 


IX 

"  HOW  THE  WINDOWS  OF  HEAVEN  WERE  OPENED  " 

I  think  that  you  have  already  discovered  that 
we  believed  in  teaching  the  people  to  help  them- 
selves. This  seemed  of  great  importance  for  a 
people  who  had  so  long  been  under  the  influence 
of  governmental  oppression.  They  needed  to 
learn  that  they  had  something  to  do  and  the  way 
to  do  it.  It  was  not  wise  to  wait  till  they  were 
stronger.  In  fact  the  very  knowledge  that  you 
can  do  a  thing  is  the  first  step  toward  its  accom- 
plishment. 

We  made  them  to  feel  that  the  work  was  their 
own,  that  we  were  only  outside  aids  to  help 
them  to  get  upon  their  feet,  and  that  when  once 
up  they  were  to  start  on  a  run — as  they  certainly 
did  in  some  cases.  The  needs  of  the  Church, 
the  building  of  churches  and  schools,  we  em- 
ployed to  arouse  them  to  what  they  could  do. 

When  they  were  making  commendable  prog- 
ress in  these  branches  we  introduced  the  idea  of 
helping  those  outside.  We  observed  the  monthly 
concert  for  Missions,  and  thus  it  was  easy  to  ask 
them  if  they  did  not  wish  to  share  in  the  conver- 

99 


Missions  in  Eden 

sion  of  the  world.  We  sent  our  first  small  con- 
tributions to  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  The  Board  had 
helped  them,  and  their  hearts  were  naturally 
drawn  out  to  those  who  had  helped  them.  Little 
keepsakes  were  sometimes  brought,  and  it  was 
pleasant  to  see  their  faces  light  up  as  they  gave 
these  gifts  to  the  Lord's  treasury. 

The  monthly  concert  became  one  of  our  best 
attended  meetings.  We  made  it  interesting  by 
translating  the  most  interesting  papers  from  the 
Herald  and  other  magazines  into  simple  Arme- 
nian so  that  they  might  be  easily  understood.  We 
often  illustrated  these  topics  by  drawings  on  the 
movable  blackboard.  The  students  in  our  High 
School  were  able  to  give  us  a  great  deal  of  help 
in  getting  ready  the  monthly  concert  papers  and 
drawing  the  illustrations.  For  example,  we  would 
take  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  give  them  the  his- 
tory of  their  evangelization  by  American  Chris- 
tians. A  picture  of  these  islands  with  the  mis- 
sionary vessel,  the  Morning  Star,  which  was  built 
by  the  children,  with  all  her  sails  set,  approach- 
ing the  land,  was  very  pleasing  and  had  a  stimu- 
lating influence. 

The  children  in  our  day  schools  being  anxious 
to  be  formed  into  Missionary  Societies  like  the 
American  children  and  have  a  name  all  their 

100 


"Windows  of  Heaven  were  Opened" 

own,  we  organized  "The  Gleaners  "  in  one  ward 
of  the  city,  "The  Morning  Star"  in  another, 
"The  Day  Spring"  in  one  of  the  villages,  and  so 
on.  In  order  to  raise  funds  for  the  work  we  in- 
vited the  children  to  bring  paras  (one-tenth  of  a 
cent),  we  held  fairs,  inviting  the  mothers  to  come 
and  buy  the  articles  their  children  had  made.  At 
such  times  the  girls  would  be  ready  to  sing  and 
to  recite,  which  greatly  pleased  their  mothers  and 
friends  and  served  to  interest  them  in  our  work. 
We  wished  to  have  the  children  working  in  this 
way  all  over  the  field. 

Some  thought  all  the  money  should  be  used 
for  Home  work;  but  others  of  us  felt  this  would 
make  the  children  narrow  and  selfish,  so  the 
Kurdish  Missionary  Society  was  formed,  which 
was  intended  to  care  for  Armenians  who  lived  in 
the  midst  of  the  Kurds,  many  of  whom  could 
speak  only  Kurdish.  One  of  our  Pastors  who 
could  speak  Kurdish,  travelled  extensively  in  this 
region  and  came  back  to  tell  us  tales  of  their 
wretchedness  and  ignorance  which  so  touched 
all  of  our  hearts  that  soon  Branch  Societies  were 
formed  in  all  the  churches.  One  that  was  formed 
in  our  Girls'  High  School  sent  money,  books  and 
clothing. 

The  Armenians  are  so  very  tender-hearted  and 

101 


Missions  in  Eden 

sympathetic  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  ap- 
peal to  their  generosity  without  a  response.  I 
have  known  the  people  to  come  bringing  their 
own  garments  for  those  more  needy.  Our  church 
at  Harpoot  never  sent  a  man  away  empty  if  he 
was  worthy. 

This  Kurdish  missionary  work  became  so 
popular  that  donations  came  in  from  most  of  the 
Protestant  Armenian  churches  in  the  Turkish  Em- 
pire. It  was  in  a  very  flourishing  condition  when 
the  massacres  devastated  that  part  of  the  field. 
The  churches  were  shut  up  or  torn  down,  some 
of  the  Preachers  were  killed  and  others  thrown 
into  prison,  and  the  whole  work  almost  blotted 
out.  Such,  however,  was  the  solidity  of  its 
foundations,  that  already  it  is  putting  forth  new 
efforts  and  ere  long  we  believe  a  greater  work 
will  develop  in  Kurdistan.  Let  us  put  up  the 
prayer  that  the  Protestant  Armenian  churches 
will  be  glad  once  more  to  give  in  their  poverty 
to  carry  the  work  forward. 

I  doubt  not  that  God  is  able  to  raise  up  another 
John  Concordance  to  help  forward  such  a  move- 
ment. Let  me  tell  you  of  this  poor  blind  man 
whom  God  used  so  wonderfully  to  seal  what  the 
missionary  had  taught  about  giving.     He  came 

from   a   little   village   on  the  sides  of  the  Anti- 

102 


-1 

H 


2 
W 


< 

J 


"  Windows  of  Heaven  were  Opened " 

Taurus  mountains.  He  heard  in  his  native  vil- 
lage about  the  school  in  Harpoot  where  men 
read  and  studied  the  Bible.  He  had  all  his  life 
been  a  church  goer,  kept  his  fasts  and  feasts, 
made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  prayed  to  the  Virgin 
and  the  saints,  made  pilgrimages  to  the  sacred 
relics,  and  drunk  from  the  sacred  fountains  that 
bubbled  out  from  the  mountain  side.  Yes,  John 
had  been  a  very  religious  youth  ever  since  small- 
pox had  forever  shut  out  for  him  the  light  of  this 
beautiful  world,  for  his  ears  heard  what  many 
others,  if  they  heard,  did  not  heed. 

One  day  new  Teachers  had  come  and  had 
taught  new  things;  but  how  could  he,  a  blind 
man,  ever  reach  Harpoot  to  find  out  if  these 
things  were  true  ?  I  doubt  not  he  prayed  as  well 
as  listened,  for  one  day  he  applied  for  admission 
to  the  Bible  School.  He  came  well  recommended 
and  was  received.  His  fellow-students  pitied 
him  and  would  read  to  him  at  almost  any  time 
he  asked  the  favor.  He  soon  learned  the  Bible 
so  correctly  that  he  could  repeat  any  verse  he 
had  heard  and  tell  where  it  could  be  found,  giv- 
ing chapter  and  verse.  The  students  dubbed 
him  "  Hamaparpar "  (Concordance),  and  ever 
after  he  was  known  as  Hohannes  Hamaparpar, 
or  John  Concordance.     When  he  heard  what  the 

103 


Missions  in  Eden 

Bible  taught  about  giving  tithes,  he  said,  "Tithe- 
giving  is  just  as  binding  on  us  as  it  ever  was  on 
the  Jews,  and  God  will  bless  us  if  we  are  obedi- 
ent." 

When  he  finished  his  course  in  the  Bible 
School,  the  missionaries  sent  him  to  Shepik, 
where  a  struggling  church  was  steadily  growing 
weaker  and  weaker.  They  thought  they  were 
too  poor  to  support  the  gospel,  and  instead  of 
exerting  themselves,  were  well  content  to  be 
carried  by  the  missionaries. 

After  John  had  been  settled  there  for  a  while 
he  took  for  his  text  one  day,  "Bring  ye  all 
the  tithes  into  the  storehouse,  .  .  .  and 
prove  me  now  herewith,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts, 
if  I  will  not  open  you  the  windows  of  heaven, 
and  pour  you  out  a  blessing,  that  there  shall  not 
be  room  enough  to  receive  it."  He  proved  with 
such  power  that  it  was  not  only  our  duty  but 
privilege  to  give  the  Lord  one-tenth  of  all  our 
gains,  that  the  people  of  that  poor  village  rose 
as  one  man  and  brought  in  the  tithes. 

Yet  he  was  not  satisfied  to  see  that  village  able 
to  stand  alone,  but  went  to  many  places,  preach- 
ing that  men  had  robbed  God  and  that  was  why 
so  many  were  poor  and  wretched  and  blind  and 
weak.     Many  under  the  power  of  his  exhortation 

104 


"  Windows  of  Heaven  were  Opened " 

were  constrained  to  give  not  only  a  tithe  of  their 
income,  but  much  more,  so  that  the  treasury  of 
the  Lord  was  more  than  filled;  and  God  opened 
the  windows  of  heaven,  and  such  a  revival 
spread  through  the  churches  that  where  grum- 
bling was  once  heard  songs  of  praise  filled  many 
mouths. 

One  of  the  marked  features  of  this  revival  was 
the  childlike  simplicity  with  which  the  people 
asked  for  the  blessings  needed.  A  tender,  loving 
spirit  manifested  itself.  The  missionary  or  Pas- 
tor after  speaking  would  often  find  his  people  in 
tears;  young  and  old  convicted  of  sin  and  in- 
quiring, "  How  can  I  be  saved  ?"  I  was  present 
in  the  city  at  a  meeting  of  the  church,  when  one 
and  another  arose  and,  with  streaming  eyes, 
asked  forgiveness.  The  whole  audience  was 
weeping  together  and  the  Holy  Spirit  was  doing 
His  great  work  of  convincing  the  church  of  their 
need. 

I  never  saw  so  much  of  the  simplicity  of  God's 
dealing  with  ignorant  sinners  as  at  this  time. 
One  old  woman  who  had  been  to  Jerusalem  and 
was  called  Hadji  (Pilgrim)  Anna,  said,  "I  don't 
know  anything,  but  I  do  love  Christ."  Her  fu- 
ture life  showed  this;  for  this  tigress,  whose 
voice  was  once  heard  all  over  the  neighborhood, 

105 


Missions  in  Eden 

was  henceforth  the  lamb.  It  was  beautiful  to  sit 
by  her  dying  bed  and  see  the  confidence  she  had 
in  her  Saviour  as  death  drew  near. 

Another  who  had  spent  all  her  living  to  go  and 
gaze  on  the  spot  where  Christ  suffered  on  the 
cross  asked,  mid  sobs,  how  she  should  find  the 
Saviour  she  needed. 

"Hadji  Marta,"  said  the  missionary  lady,  "if 
you  were  hungry  and  needed  a  piece  of  bread, 
could  you  not  ask  for  it?"     "  Yes,"  she  replied. 

"  Then  go  and  ask  Jesus  for  the  bread  of  life, 
and  He  will  give  it  you."  There  on  her  knees 
before  the  pulpit  she  asked  and  was  fed,  and 
became  one  of  the  bright  lights  in  that  village 
church.  So  much  was  she  respected  that  one  of 
her  neighbors,  an  honorable  man,  would  take  her 
on  his  back  and  carry  her  to  the  church  when  she 
could  not  walk. 

At  one  morning  meeting  the  worst  man  in  one 
of  our  cities,  who  was  so  wicked  that  neither  the 
Christian  nor  the  Turk  would  claim  him,  was 
melted  and,  to  the  astonishment  of  all,  arose  to 
ask  the  Christians  to  pray  for  him  that  the  merci- 
ful Saviour  would  not  pass  him  by. 

All  classes  were  reached.  Yes,  God  did  keep 
His  word;  and  this  uplifting  that  came  from  the 
giving,   convinced  the   people  as  no  argument 

106 


"  Windows  of  Heaven  were  Opened  " 

could,  that  God  would  help  those  who  helped 
themselves.  It  brought  not  only  the  church  up 
onto  a  higher  plane  but  also  the  whole  com- 
munity; more  Bibles  were  sold,  and  the  Scrip- 
tures were  read  with  greater  care;  the  schools 
increased  largely  in  attendance;  with  the  re- 
sult that  the  missionaries  were  too  few  to  carry 
on  the  work  among  the  villages  on  the  plain, 
and  more  men  were  called  for  to  superintend 
the  work  which  had  so  increased.  Some  300 
villages  and  eight  to  ten  cities  is  not  a  small 
parish  where  every  department  of  work  must  be 
looked  after,  and  we  felt  that  some  two  or  three 
should  be  travelling  in  the  field  all  the  time. 

Here  let  me  again  emphasize  the  fact  that  we 
never  gave  the  people  what  they  ought  to  buy 
for  themselves,  but  in  every  way  developed  the 
manly  spirit  of  helping  them  to  help  themselves; 
and  this  principle  thoroughly  inculcated  is  prov- 
ing to  be  nuggets  of  gold  for  the  future  of  poor 
Armenia.  It  is  truly  wonderful  to  see  how  it 
has  saved  our  work  since  the  massacre. 

Mr.  Browne's  last  report  of  the  Harpoot  field, 
after  reciting  instances  of  giving  in  various  sta- 
tions, says,  "This  year  four  of  our  churches 
through  strenuous  efforts  became  self-supporting, 
while  we  can  confidently  reckon  on  two  more 

107 


Missions  in  Eden 

next  year.  The  Native  contributions  this  year 
have  been  85,264  Piastres1  against  44,885  Piastres 
given  by  the  Board.  This  for  any  year  in  this 
land  is  commendable,  but  under  existing  circum- 
stances it  is  truly  Apostolic." 

1 A  Piaster  is  worth  four  cents  in  our  money. 


103 


o 

0 


< 
S 


H 
(A 


s 


w 


X 

"EUPHRATES  COLLEGE" 

When  we  began  our  Boys'  school  in  Keshish 
Oghloo's  stable  and  the  Girls'  school  in  a  little 
room  on  the  house-top,  perhaps  much  like  the 
one  Peter  had  when  a  guest  of  Simon  the  Tanner, 
who  lived  by  the  sea  at  Joppa,  we  had  no 
thought  that  in  twenty  years  these  would  grow 
into  a  college  for  young  men  and  women.  But 
so  God  ordained,  and  the  missionary  who  did 
not  believe  in  higher  education  as  a  force  to  be 
largely  made  use  of  in  evangelism,  was  by  cir- 
cumstances made  the  founder  of  Euphrates  Col- 
lege. 

The  High  School  and  the  Theological  Seminary 
were  the  natural  fruits  of  the  day  schools.  The 
people  began  to  call  for  better  educated  Preach- 
ers and  Teachers.  Our  most  talented  young  men 
began  to  leave  us  and  pursue  this  higher  educa- 
tion in  institutions  abroad,  being  thus  lost  to  our 
work,  for  even  if  they  returned  they  were  so 
much  above  the  people  that  they  were  restless 
and  impatient  and  the  people  were  dissatisfied 
with  them. 

109 


Missions  in  Eden 
The  constant   increase  of  the  Christian  com- 

• 

munity  in  Harpoot  and  the  fact  that  three  other 
stations  would  patronize  the  College  (the  only 
one  in  Armenia  proper  with  the  Armenian  lan- 
guage as  its  vernacular),  encouraged  the  founders 
of  Euphrates  College  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of 
the  institution,  and  the  increasing  prosperity  of 
the  following  seventeen  years  only  confirmed  the 
wisdom  of  the  step. 

While  the  college  belonged  to  the  churches 
that  sent  forth  the  missionaries,  yet  it  had  no 
right  to  the  money  given  for  evangelistic  work, 
though  it  was  a  most  efficient  adjunct.  We  felt 
that  it  had  claims  on  Christian  benevolence,  and 
was  missionary  work  that  would  yield  rich  re- 
turns, and  therefore  determined  to  have  an  en- 
dowment fund,  so  two  of  the  missionaries  were 
delegated  to  visit  America  and  plead  its  cause. 

The  Girls'  College,  (now  burned  to  the  ground) 

was  so   much  needed  that  foundations  for  the 

building  were  commenced  when  only  $100  were 

in  hand  that  could  be  used  for  this  purpose.     It 

required  faith  to  begin,   but  God  justified  this 

faith.     The  missionaries  laid  the  case  before  the 

Master  who  sent  them  forth,  and  He  prospered 

them  beyond  their  hopes.     They  worked  and 

they  prayed.     Difficulties  from  the  government 

no 


"Euphrates   College" 

came  up  that  at  times  threatened  to  be  insur- 
mountable, but  an  unseen  power  removed  these 
when  we  could  see  no  way  out.  An  officer  came 
one  day  to  inspect  the  work  and  the  cry  went  up 
from  the  Armenian  women, 

"  Hanum,  the  Turks  have  come  to  stop  work 
on  the  building!" 

Quietly  the  lady  missionary  said  to  them,  "  Let 
us  pray;  God  can  help  us."  In  the  midst  of  their 
work  they  knelt  and  prayed,  "  Father  in  heaven, 
Thou  knowest  this  building  is  needed  for  the 
carrying  forward  of  Christ's  kingdom.  The 
hearts  of  the  Turks  are  in  Thy  hands  and  Thou 
canst  turn  them  whithersoever  Thou  wiliest." 
Loud  words  from  the  accusers  were  heard,  but 
prayer  prevailed.  The  officer  said  to  the  mission- 
ary superintending  the  building,  "Go  on  with 
your  work.  You  have  not  gone  beyond  your 
permission." 

This  officer  returned  to  the  Pasha  (Governor) 

and    said,    "Those    men    are  real   benefactors. 

They  have  not  gone  beyond  their  instructions. 

Instead  of  polluting  our  cemetery  (which  was 

near  by)  they  are  improving  it,  and,  Effendi,  I 

felt    like    staying    and    helping    them."     This 

stopped  the  mouth  of  the  principal  enemy,  and 

the   missionary   superintendent   made  the    very 

ill 


Missions  in  Eden 

man,  who  by  his  complaint  had  caused  our 
trouble,  overseer  of  the  road  that  was  being 
built  through  the  Turkish  cemetery  with  the 
earth  and  stone  dug  out  of  the  foundations  of 
our  new  building.  This  Turk  became  his  fast 
friend  and  remained  so  ever  after.  The  road 
then  built  at  the  north  of  the  Girls'  College,  from 
which  it  was  separated  by  a  high  wall  so  that  the 
Turks  should  not  watch  the  girls  in  the  yard,  is 
now  called  College  Street,  and  when  by  and  by 
it  too  shall  have  its  rows  of  trees,  which  will 
more  entirely  separate  us  from  the  cemetery,  it 
will  be  a  street  of  beauty  making  an  imposing 
background  to  the  Girls'  College. 

Many  nearly  famished  men  found  work  digging 
these  foundations,  and  the  tall,  dignified,  turbaned 
Turk,  passing  by,  would  call  down  blessings  on 
the  father  and  grandfather  of  the  builder.  "  For 
the  merciful  who  fed  the  poor  would  find 
mercy  with  Allah."  Many  of  the  laborers  were 
Turks  who  lacked  daily  bread.  How  pleased 
they  always  looked,  when  the  missionary,  at  the 
close  of  the  week,  gave  them  a  few  cents  extra 
for  faithful  work. 

For  years  some  of  these  same  workmen  were 
employed  in  similar  work,  as  new  buildings  went 
up,  and  we  are  slow  to  believe  that  they  shared 

112 


"Euphrates  College" 

with  those  who  afterward  plundered  and  burned 
our  buildings. 

When  after  two  years,  our  beautiful  college  for 
girls  was  finished,  with  what  an  almost  triumph- 
ant joy  we  left  our  crowded  quarters  and  went 
into  this  building  with  not  one  cent  of  debt  on  it. 
Had  not  God  been  a  hearer  and  answerer  of 
prayer?  Some  who  gave  donations  and  whose 
names  were  recorded  over  the  doors  of  some  of 
the  rooms  have  met  in  our  Father's  House  the 
martyrs  whose  girls,  students  in  this  college, 
were  safely  sheltered  in  the  male  college  at  the 
time  of  the  massacre. 

Come  with  me  into  the  College  and  let  us  be- 
gin way  down  in  the  cellar  where  the  storerooms 
are.  Some  of  them  are  rather  dark,  for  they  are 
cut  out  of  the  solid  rock  and  have  light  only  on 
one  side.  Here  are  our  refrigerators  and  wood 
bins.  Here  also  is  the  wash-room  where  the 
girls  come  for  their  daily  ablutions.  Just  beyond 
is  the  dressing-room,  and  through  this  you  reach 
the  bath-room  which  is  lined  with  stone  and 
built  over  a  fireplace.  Here  you  can  enjoy  a  real 
Turkish  bath,  for  it  is  full  of  steam  and  the  floor 
is  so  hot  that  you  will  need  to  wear  the  wooden 
shoes  or  clogs  the  girls  use.     This  bath  is  lighted 

every  two  weeks,  and  is  one  of  our  luxuries; 

113 


Missions  in  Eden 

but  we  cannot  do  without  it,  and  every  girl  has 
to  pay  extra  for  this  just  as  you  do  in  America 
for  music.  All  the  water  for  this  tank  was 
brought  in  skins  on  men's  shoulders,  till  a  lady 
missionary  lectured  in  America  to  secure  the 
money  to  provide  the  abundant  supply  you  now 
see. 

Let  us  now  come  out  into  this  nice  paved 
court.  Here  you  see  women  preparing  the  great 
bags  of  wheat  for  bulgoor.  You  saw  these  bags 
on  the  raised  platform  in  the  storeroom ;  but  it 
must  all  be  picked  over,  washed,  and  boiled,  be- 
fore it  goes  to  the  mill  to  be  crushed.  Then 
when  made  into  pilaf,  with  meat  and  a  little 
butter,  you  would  soon  learn  to  like  it,  especially 
when  a  delicious  bowl  of  buttermilk  is  served 
with  it. 

This  is  the  dining-hall.  Hark,  the  bell  rings 
and  soon  the  girls  will  come  flocking  in.  How 
much  they  are  like  other  girls!  The  Frank  table 
has  only  twelve  places  and  is  like  the  tables  you 
are  accustomed  to;  but  you  will  be  far  more  in- 
terested in  the  round  copper  tables  on  low  stools, 
with  a  table-cloth  under  the  stool.  The  girls  sit 
about  these  tables  on  cushions,  a  la  Turk,  and 
each   one  eats  her  food  with  a  wooden  spoon 

from   the  dish  placed  in  the  centre.     The  thin 

114 


"Euphrates   College" 

wafer-like  bread  is  placed  round  the  table  at  each 
place.  All  are  expected  to  bring  their  own  nap- 
kins, which  are  kept  in  the  cupboard  over  there 
and  are  like  our  towels.  When  the  soup  is  fin- 
ished the  second  course  is  served,  and  then  if  it 
is  winter,  nuts,  dried  fruit  or  Turkish  sweet- 
meats, and  if  summer,  grapes,  melons,  apples, 
pears,  cherries,  apricots,  peaches  or  plums.  The 
abundant  fruit  crop  of  these  highlands  helps 
much  in  furnishing  a  variety  of  desserts. 

A  short  flight  of  stairs  takes  us  to  the  sitting- 
rooms.  The  oiled  floors  are  covered  with  Kurd- 
ish carpets;  Turkish  divans  are  on  two  sides  of 
the  rooms,  one  of  which  is  for  the  College,  and 
the  other  for  the  Preparatory  Department  girls. 
There  is  an  organ  for  each  room.  Chairs  and 
tables  and  some  inexpensive  pictures  complete 
the  furnishings.  The  rooms  are  pleasant  and  at- 
tractive, and  here  the  girls  are  very  happy  when 
not  at  work  or  study. 

The  girls  do  all  the  housework  and  are  divided 

into    rotating    circles   with    a  first  and  second 

leader.     They  pass  from  one  kind  of  work  to 

another  so  that  the  daily  round  does  not  become 

irksome  and  all  are  trained  in  every  variety  of 

household  employment.     The  plan  has  worked 

successfully  for  years  and  the  leaders  of  the  cir- 

115 


Missions  in  Eden 

cles  feel  a  motherly  and  religious  interest  in  the 
younger  members. 

We  will  now  pass  into  the  beautiful,  clean 
hospital-room  lighted  by  three  windows,  and 
sometimes  occupied  by  several  inmates,  and 
thence  by  the  front  door  to  the  reception-room 
where  the  girls  can  see  their  friends  under  cer- 
tain restrictions;  sometimes  alone,  but  usually 
the  door  into  the  matron's  room  is  open  and  she 
is  expected  to  know  all  that  transpires. 

This  long  flight  of  stairs  takes  us  to  the  dormi- 
tories and  teachers'  rooms.  As  we  have  no  bed- 
steads you  will  see  the  bedding  all  piled  up 
neatly  on  the  right  side,  covered  with  carpets. 
The  dormitories  consist  of  two  large  halls  lined 
with  small  closets,  one  for  each  girl,  where  she 
has  a  seat  and  can  keep  her  pictures  and  treas- 
ures, and  where  she  retires  for  daily  Bible  read- 
ing and  prayer.  At  night  all  the  beds  are  spread 
on  the  floor,  each  as  near  the  closet  of  the  owner 
as  possible.  The  native  teachers'  rooms  open 
into  these  dormitories,  and  across  the  narrow 
hall,  on  the  west,  are  the  rooms  of  the  American 
teachers.  Near  these  and  beside  the  door  that 
leads  into  the  girls'  court,  is  the  office  where 
business  is  transacted  and  pupils  received. 

The  court  is  protected  on  all  sides  by  high 

116 


"Euphrates   College" 

walls  and  in  it  is  the  Mary  Davis  drinking  foun- 
tain. This  is  a  very  great  improvement  over  the 
old  water  jar  that  was  filled  by  the  water-carrier 
with  his  goatskin  bottle  slung  over  his  back. 

Perhaps  you  are  getting  weary,  but  we  have 
one  story  more  to  show  you  before  we  go  down 
to  the  Kindergarten  and  Primary  Departments. 
We  will  ascend  these  stone  steps  from  the  court 
instead  of  going  inside  again.  At  the  left,  as  we 
enter  the  hall,  we  find  Professor  Nahigian  in  the 
chemical  room  teaching  Physics.  He  is  busy 
with  experiments  and  his  class  of  Juniors  look 
bright  and  appreciative.  He  married  our  sweet 
Mariam.  Farther  along  are  other  recitation 
rooms,  while  on  the  right  is  the  college  hall.  A 
prettier  room  than  this  we  shall  seldom  find, 
with  its  neat,  plain  finish  and  American  desks 
and  seats  screwed  to  the  neatly  painted  floor. 
Teacher  Nazloo  is  here  and,  in  her  sweet,  lady- 
like way,  is  teaching  a  class  in  Moral  Science. 
In  a  recitation  room  just  beyond,  Mrs.  Wheeler  is 
teaching  a  class  in  English  Literature.  The  girls 
are  much  interested  in  "  Lady  of  the  Lake,"  judg- 
ing from  quotations  written  on  the  blackboard. 
Miss  Barnum  is  teaching  Physical  Geography  in 
the  next  room. 

At  this  point  we  enter  Stone  Hall  where  the 

117 


Missions  in  Eden 

members  of  the  High  and  Grammar  Schools  have 
their  seats.  Mrs.  Stone  gave  us  $25,000,  and  the 
hall  was  named  after  her.  Here  Miss  Daniels 
greets  us,  and  Miss  Wheeler  is  giving  a  large 
class  a  singing  lesson.  They  are  preparing  for  a 
concert  to  be  given  before  the  college  and  out- 
side friends.  Miss  Allen  is  at  the  organ.  These 
girls  are  doing  splendid  work  for  those  who  have 
had  so  few  opportunities.  Such  concerts  we 
find  are  very  uplifting,  and  the  girls  look  forward 
to  them  with  delight.  We  encourage  all  to  learn 
singing,  and  quite  a  number  learn  to  play  the 
organ. 

There  are  still  other  recitation  rooms  where  we 
would  love  to  take  you  that  you  might  see  how 
the  native  teachers  have  improved  under  Miss 
Daniels'  enthusiastic  lessons  in  Pedagogy;  but 
'tis  most  time  for  the  midday  recess  and  we 
have  yet  to  visit  other  Departments.  Take  one 
look  as  we  pass  along  from  the  southern  win- 
dows of  Stone  Hall  and  I  think  you  will  not 
wonder  that  Mr.  Grant  and  Mr.  Wood,  Ameri- 
can travellers  who  visited  us,  said  they  had  seen 
but  one  finer  mountain  view  than  this  in  all  their 
travels.  Below  you  is  the  great  plain  we  call  the 
workshop  for  our  College  pupils,  where  many  of 
the  three  hundred  villages  are  calling  for  teachers. 

118 


"Euphrates   College" 

At  the  south  is  the  Taurus  range,  uniting  east 
and  west  with  the  Anti-Taurus,  whose  tops  are 
covered  with  snow  the  larger  part  of  the  year, 
giving  us  cool  breezes  when  the  hot  season 
comes.  This  plain  is  beautiful  now  and  will 
continue  to  be  till  the  July  and  August  sun  dries 
up  everything  that  is  not  reached  by  the  almost 
universal  irrigation  afforded  by  the  streams 
which  flow  from  the  fountains  in  the  valleys. 

Now  we  will  go  down  through  the  court  and 
over  the  lower  terrace  that  lies  in  front  of  the 
school,  to  our  Kindergarten  and  Primary  Depart- 
ments. Here  is  where  we  receive  and  work  up 
the  raw  material  for  our  College.  If  you  should 
put  the  question,  those  children  would  all  say 
that  they  expect  to  graduate  from  the  College, 
though  most  of  them  will  marry  before  that. 
Here  sometimes  we  have  to  send  a  girl  home 
because  she  comes  with  unkempt  hair  and  a 
dirty  dress;  but  the  mothers  soon  learn  that  such 
things  will  not  be  tolerated,  and  the  girls  them- 
selves quickly  become  sensitive  and  ready  to 
prompt  a  careless  mother.  This  is  the  day  for 
the  Missionary  Society,  and  you  will  be  pleased 
to  see  the  little  ones  from  the  Kindergarten  come 
in  to  the  Primary  room  and  sit  down  in  rows  on 
the  floor  at  your  feet.     After  giving  the  saluta- 

119 


Missions  in  Eden 

tion  they  fold  their  hands  like  so  many  old  ladies 
and  not  a  smile  is  seen  on  their  faces.  Give 
them  some  sweet  song  they  have  learned  and 
you  will  hear  very  much  the  same  music  you 
would  at  home  from  such  tots.  The  older  chil- 
dren have  all  brought  their  money  and  are  ready 
to  hear  the  story  you  have  for  them. 

You  read  from  the  Bible,  "  Ethiopia  shall  stretch 
out  her  hands  to  God."  You  show  them  on  the 
map  where  Ethiopia  or  Africa  is;  you  tell  them 
these  words  were  uttered  long  ago,  but  are  now 
being  fulfilled. 

"What  do  you  know  of  Africa,  Sara?" 
"It   is  a  great  country  where  black  people 
live." 

"  Do  any  of  them  know  about  Jesus  ?" 
"Yes,  missionaries  went  to  them  and  they 
have  learned  many  things." 

"  What  is  the  name  of  your  society  ?" 
All    together    they   reply,    "  Little    Drops    of 
Water." 

"What  can  little  drops  of  water  become  ?" 
"The  mighty  ocean." 

"  What  do  you  do  with  your  money  that  you 
raise  in  this  society  ?  " 

"We  help  support  two  girls  in  Africa." 

"I   have  here  the  picture  of  Susiwe,  one  of 

120 


"  Euphrates   College  " 

these  girls,  and  a  letter  from  her.  Do  you  wish 
to  hear  the  letter?" 

"Yes,  yes." 

"  Listen,  then,  '  I  was  an  ignorant  heathen  girl. 
I  did  not  know  about  Jesus.  My  father  wanted 
to  sell  me  to  an  wicked  old  man.  So  I  took  my 
blanket  and  rolling  it  up  fled  to  the  river.  I 
could  swim;  but  I  was  afraid  of  the  crocodiles 
that  eat  people.  What  should  I  do  ?  My  father 
would  soon  pursue  me.  I  put  my  blanket  on 
my  head  and  swam  very  fast  over  the  river. 
Then  I  threw  my  blanket  round  me  and  ran  to 
the  house  of  Mrs.  Edwards  at  Inanda,  and  she 
took  me  into  her  school.' 

"Her  father  soon  came  to  Mrs.  Edwards  and 
demanded  his  daughter,  but  Mrs.  Edwards  per- 
suaded him  to  let  her  stay,  and  soon  her  sister 
Nomdakhe  came  also.  Her  brother  and  mother 
became  Christians,  and  we  hope  the  old  father 
has  ere  this." 

We  have  three  other  societies  in  the  school  be- 
sides "  Little  Drops  of  Water,"  and  these  all  unite 
to  send  their  money  to  Mrs.  Edwards  to  help 
support  Nomdakhe  and  Susiwe. 

When  the  girls  in  Inanda  Seminary,  South 
Africa,  heard  that  the  Turks  had  burned  down 
this  beautiful  school  building  through  which  you 

121 


Missions  in  Eden 

had  been  looking,  they  wanted  to  send  some- 
thing to  help  the  girls  in  Euphrates  College,  and 
they  accomplished  this  by  living  part  of  the  time 
on  two  meals  a  day  and  by  working  extra  time 
in  the  fields. 

Some  of  our  dear  little  Primary  and  Kinder- 
garten girls  were  so  interested  in  the  African 
girls  that  they  would  bring  to  their  Teachers  the 
apples,  nuts,  raisins,  dried  peas  and  salted  roasted 
squash  seeds  that  their  mothers  had  given  them 
for  their  noonday  lunch,  and  the  Teachers  would 
sell  these  to  older  girls  for  a  small  sum  and  put 
the  money  in  the  society  mite  box.  Some  of  the 
girls  who  went  out  to  teach  in  the  villages  also 
formed  missionary  societies,  and  so  the  work 
grew. 

The  Male  College  raised  up  its  own  Professors 
and  Teachers,  and  we  had  only  two  teachers  in 
the  College  who  were  not  of  her  own  Alumni. 
The  Professor  of  Armenian,  English  and  Latin, 
was  from  one  of  the  agricultural  villages;  his 
father  was  the  first  man  to  build  a  second  story 
to  his  house  and  buy  a  stove,  "so  he  could  have 
the  missionaries  for  his  guests,"  he  said.  He  be- 
came a  very  useful  deacon  in  the  church  in  his 
native  village.  His  son  married  the  daughter  of 
a  Preacher,  one  of  the  very  first  graduates  of  the 

122 


"Euphrates   College" 

Girls'  College.  As  her  father  died  leaving  her 
mother  with  a  large  family  to  care  for,  she  had 
paid  her  way  by  teaching.  Another  graduate 
became  the  Professor  of  Turkish,  History  and 
French,  another  Professor  of  Higher  Mathematics 
and  the  Sciences,  and  another  chief  teacher  of 
Chemistry,  Bible  Study  and  Singing.  Only  the 
President  was  a  missionary. 

The  intelligent  educated  Armenian  has  proved 
himself  capable  of  filling  an  important  place  in 
lifting  up  his  people.  Dr.  Gates  reopened  the 
College  a  few  weeks  after  the  terrible  massacres; 
but  was  obliged  for  a  time  to  leave  it  almost 
wholly  to  his  native  teachers,  who  proved  them- 
selves equal  to  the  extra  responsibility  thrown 
upon  them.  Some  of  these  teachers  became 
very  efficient  aids  to  the  President  and  other  mis- 
sionaries in  laboring  to  save  the  widows  and 
orphans  left  after  the  massacres  of  1895. 

One  of  the  most  hopeful  evidences  of  the 
future  of  the  College  and  High  School  is  the 
fact  that,  though  the  beautiful  buildings  are  in 
ashes,  and  cramped  accommodations,  paucity  of 
books  and  apparatus,  and  lack  of  sufficient  teach- 
ing force,  make  the  work  harder  than  ever,  to- 
day its  numbers  are  larger  than  ever  before,  and 
the  work  done  is  of  a  higher  grade  than  even  be- 

123 


Missions  in  Eden 

fore  the  massacre.  The  blessing  of  the  Lord  has 
rested  upon  its  pupils,  and  many  have  since  be- 
come Christians. 

The  graduates  of  the  College  are  found  in 
many  lands.  Many  in  this  land  are  preachers 
and  teachers  for  their  poor  countrymen  who  have 
fled  from  Turkey.  Some  are  pastors  of  American 
churches,  others  are  doctors,  dentists,  engravers 
or  artists,  merchants,  and  all  are  doing  first- 
class  work  and  are  honoring  their  Alma  Mater. 


124 


XI 

"OVER  THE  TAURUS   MOUNTAINS" 

I  well  remember  the  first  annual  meeting  in 
Eastern  Turkey.  It  was  before  the  Turkish  Mis- 
sion was  divided  into  Eastern,  Western,  and  Cen- 
tral. We  were  to  have  this  gathering  at  Harpoot. 
Missionaries  would  come  from  all  parts  of  the 
empire.     How  should  we  entertain  them  ? 

We  were  overjoyed  at  the  thought  that  Har- 
poot was  to  have  this  uplift.  We  had  now  been 
three  years  in  the  interior  and  had  seen  very  few 
Europeans  or  missionaries.  We  were  only  two 
missionary  families.  We  had  no  hotels  to  help 
us  out.  The  meeting  would  be  in  the  spring 
when  we  could  not  depend  upon  our  abundant 
autumn  fruits;  just  at  the  time  when  the  house- 
keeper is  often  puzzled  to  know  what  she  shall 
set  before  her  household.  We  knew  the  meet- 
ing would  be  a  large  one,  for  some  important 
business  was  to  come  before  it.  How  were  we 
to  set  about  it  ? 

Well,  we  formed  our  station  into  a  committee 
of  the  whole  to  devise  means  and  ways  to  carry 

125 


Missions  in  Eden 

out  our  plans.  It  was  just  then  the  season  when 
our  best  fruit  was  ready  for  the  table.  We  had 
no  great  refrigerators  to  pack  it  away  in  for  the 
future,  and  we  lacked  the  knowledge  of  how  to 
keep  it  fresh  in  other  ways.  So  we  resolved  to 
pull  out  our  cook  books  and  preserve  it,  just  as 
our  grandmothers  had  done  before  us.  No  self 
sealing  cans  had  reached  Turkey,  so  we  made 
shift  as  best  we  could.  We  made  jellies  and 
syrups,  preserved  luscious  peaches,  pears,  plums, 
apricots,  nectarines,  and  later,  quinces,  apples  and 
melons.  If  we  could  not  have  the  fresh  apple 
pie,  so  homelike,  we  could  prepare  apple  mar- 
malade which  would  fill  the  place,  when  put  be- 
tween pastry  that  would  almost  melt  in  the 
mouth.  We  were  New  England  girls,  and  we 
meant  our  table  should  not  dishonor  the  dear  old 
matrons  in  whose  steps  we  followed. 

At  length  the  time  drew  nigh  when  the  guests 
would  begin  to  arrive.  What  should  we  do  for 
guest  chambers  and  bedding  ?  A  new  house  had 
just  been  finished  for  the  new  missionary  who  had 
been  with  us  but  a  few  months.  He  had  not  yet 
brought  home  the  daughter  of  our  beloved  Father 
Goodell,  who  was  the  bride  elect  and  who  was 
expected  during  the  summer.  This  house  we 
fitted  up  for  a  dormitory.     We  made  use  of  our 

126 


"Over  the  Taurus  Mountains" 

traveling  bedsteads,  beside  improvising  some  new 
ones.  The  whitewasher  and  scrubbing  woman 
made  ready  some  of  our  storerooms,  and  one 
family  gave  up  their  room  and  retired  to  the 
kitchen,  that  we  might  combine  forces  and  have 
only  one  large  table  where  we  could  all  come  to- 
gether. We  obtained  very  good  bedding  and 
rugs  from  some  of  the  Protestant  families  who 
were  delighted  at  having  a  part  in  helping  along 
our  preparations. 

At  last  the  rooms  for  all  the  expected  guests 
were  ready  save  mirrors,  and  these  we  found  in 
the  shop  of  a  Turk  who  loaned  them  to  us  and 
also  all  the  extra  glassware  we  needed. 

We  provided  extra  help  and  trained  them  for 
the  occasion,  so  that  when  we  wished  to  attend 
the  meetings  we  would  not  be  hindered  by  extra 
service. 

The  days  for  the  arrival  came  and  we  threw 
open  the  great  double  doors  into  our  large  airy 
halls  and  awaited  the  coming  of  our  guests.  We 
could  tell  what  time  this  would  be  with  almost 
as  much  certainty  as  you  can  when  a  friend  is 
coming  on  the  train.  We  knew  all  of  the  stages 
of  the  long  journey  some  of  them  must  take — 
we  knew  also  that  they  would  be  weary,  hungry 
and  dusty — we  knew  what  a  delight  it  would  be 

127 


Missions  in  Eden 

for  them  to  have  clean  rooms  and  sit  again  at  a 
table  to  eat;  for  we  too  had  been  travellers  in 
Turkey.  We  had  made  every  provision  to  have 
leisure  to  entertain  them,  and  this  we  proposed 
doing  with  real  Oriental  hospitality,  which  has  so 
often  charmed  the  traveller. 

When  all  had  arrived  we  were  forty  mission- 
aries, without  counting  the  children.  There 
were  representatives  from  Bulgaria,  Constanti- 
nople, Trebizond,  Sivas,  Caesarea,  Yozgat,  Aintab, 
Erzeroom,  Arabkir,  Diarbekir,  and  Mosul. 

The  day  for  the  opening  meeting  came.  Mr. 
Allen's  large  parlor  was  selected  as  just  the  place 
for  the  sessions,  for  it  opened  into  a  wide  hall 
that  could  receive  the  overflow.  My  parlor  in 
the  other  part  of  our  castle-like  home  would  do 
for  those  who  did  not  wish  to  attend  all  the 
services  and  would  be  in  readiness  for  late  ar- 
rivals. 

A  most  delightful  prayer  hour  brought  us  all 
nearer  to  the  first  Great  Missionary  and  to  each 
other.  The  Holy  Spirit  seemed  near  to  guide 
God's  children  who  were  intent  on  the  Master's 
service  and  felt  their  need  of  Divine  wisdom. 

Officers  were  soon  chosen,  and  these  set  to 
work  in  earnest  to  do  the  work  mapped  out  on 
their  program.     This  was  no  less  than  the  work 

128 


"  Over  the  Taurus  Mountains  " 

of  the  whole  Armenian  field  together  with  the 
Bulgarian. 

The  sessions  were  held  from  half-past  eight  in 
the  morning  to  twelve  o'clock,  and  from  half-past 
one  in  the  afternoon  till  half-past  four.  Some  of 
the  work  brought  before  them  needed  hours  of 
discussion,  as  great  and  important  results  rested 
on  their  decisions. 

Few  at  home  can  realize  the  responsibility  that 
rests  upon  the  missionaries  in  these  meetings. 
When  a  case  is  brought  up,  its  relations  to  the 
whole  work  must  often  be  discussed.  Then 
they  are  so  limited  by  the  money  supply  that 
they  must  often  abandon  work  that  seems  very 
hopeful.  What  shall  be  given  up  ?  What  new 
work  shall  be  accepted  and  how  shall  it  be  car- 
ried forward  ?  You  cannot  fail  to  see  how  very 
important  and  helpful  these  meetings  are,  besides 
being  encouraging  to  the  missionaries  present 
who  go  back  to  their  fields  with  new  strength 
for  their  hard  work. 

At  six  o'clock  each  afternoon  you  would  see  a 
goodly  array  of  saddle  horses  at  the  door  (as 
each  has  had  to  travel  on  horseback  to  reach  here) 
and,  accompanied  by  one  of  the  Harpoot  mis- 
sionaries, the  newcomers  would  go  out  on  the 
hills  or  down  into  the  plain  for  an  hour's  ride. 

129 


Missions  in  Eden 

Most  of  the  evenings  are  spent  by  the  gentlemen 
in  committee  work,  and  even  the  ladies  are  asked 
to  write  the  letters  for  the  Bible  Society,  the 
Tract  Society  or  the  Turkish  Missions'  Aid  So- 
ciety. Work  presses  as  the  time  is  fast  passing, 
and  each  one  begins  to  have  too  much  of  a  care- 
worn look  to  call  this  recreation.  These  meet- 
ings are  much  like  the  so-called  vacation  of  the 
missionaries  in  the  home-land,  during  which  they 
are  expected  continually  to  be  giving  addresses, 
till  the  return  ticket  is  bought  and  they  embark 
again  for  their  fields. 

Sunday  has  come,  and  with  what  delight  we 
all  listen  to  the  annual  sermon  in  our  native 
tongue.  Then  the  assembling  round  the  table  of 
our  Lord,  where  the  communion  is  so  sweet  that 
heaven  seems  to  come  down  to  meet  us  and  we 
get  some  faint  idea  of  what  it  will  be  when  we 
all  meet  in  our  Father's  house  with  Him  who 
said,  "This  do  in  remembrance  of  Me." 

Monday  the  reports  of  the  different  committees 
are  read  and  discussed  or  accepted,  and  the  re- 
maining business  finished,  for  on  the  morrow 
the  meeting  will  adjourn  and  the  guests  will 
make  ready  for  their  return. 

Early  in  the  morning  you  will  think  the  Fourth 
of  July  has  come  from  the  music  (?)  in  the  court. 

130 


"  Over  the  Taurus  Mountains " 

It  is  the  sound  of  the  muleteers  whose  lungs  are 
strong  and  mouths  open  to  let  out  all  these  gut- 
tural sounds.  It  is  really  quite  exciting  to  see 
the  busy  servants  running  hither  and  thither  with 
bag,  basket  and  bundle.  You  must  remember 
that  a  long  journey  is  before  these  travellers,  and 
they  must  take  supplies,  for  they  will  not  find 
much  at  the  Turkish  khans.  What  can  be  found 
in  the  market  of  dried  bread,  fruit  and  cheese  is 
stored  away  in  the  big  leather  bags,  while  in 
the  provision  boxes  are  packed  fresh  bread, 
cookies,  doughnuts  and  rusks,  besides  chickens 
nicely  broiled  for  the  first  weary  days. 

At  last  the  loads  are  strapped  upon  the  pack- 
saddles  of  the  mules.  The  ladies  and  children 
are  packed  away  in  the  moffas,  save  the  young 
ladies  who  prefer  being  broiled  in  the  sun  on 
horseback  to  being  cramped  up  in  the  moffas. 
We  watch  them  wind  down  the  long  mountain 
road  to  the  plain,  and  for  an  hour  or  more  can 
see  them  till  some  high  point  intervenes  and  we 
realize  that  we  are  again  alone.  How  empty  and 
silent  the  rooms  now  appear,  that  only  yesterday 
were  so  full  of  life  and  joy.  Even  our  native 
brothers  and  sisters  seem  to  feel  the  change. 
Traces  of  tears  are  seen  on  some  of  their  faces, 
and  they  say,  "Hanum,  do  you  never  weep?" 

131 


Missions  in  Eden 

If  you  will  accompany  me  to  Van,  I  will  tell 
you  of  our  annual  meeting  after  we  were  set  off 
as  the  Eastern  Turkey  Mission.  It  is  a  long, 
hard  journey;  but  you  will  enjoy  it,  for  it  will 
take  you  through  the  most  picturesque  part  of 
Turkey.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Barnum,  Edward  and 
Frank,  with  my  daughter  Emily,  will  be  our 
travelling  companions.  Some  of  us  who  are  not 
very  strong  take  this  journey  as  a  health  tour.  I 
fear  we  shall  get  more  jolting  than  we  shall  like. 
We  are  to  make  part  of  the  journey  in  Turkish 
wagons,  springless  carts,  you  will  call  them. 
One  of  the  missionaries  has  an  old-fashioned 
spring  bed,  and  it  is  suggested  that  we  have  the 
luxury  of  some  spring  seats.  The  carpenter  is 
called  and  these  are  soon  made.  What  a  com- 
fort they  prove  to  be!  Indeed  we  so  arrange 
the  cushions  at  our  backs  that  we  can  even  sleep 
when  very  weary. 

One  morning  early,  we  read  the  ninety-first 
Psalm  and  commit  ourselves  to  the  care  of  Jeho- 
vah, then  make  our  way  down  the  steep  hill  to 
the  plain  when  we  begin  to  appreciate  our  spring 
seats.  We  spend  that  night  in  the  Protestant 
Chapel  in  a  village  near  the  mountains,  finding 
our  cot  beds  very  useful  to  keep  us  from  the 
hungry  fleas.     We  have  an  early  breakfast  and 

132 


"Over  the  Taurus  Mountains" 

begin  our  climb  up  the  Taurus  mountains  which 
we  must  cross  on  our  way  to  Diarbekir,  where 
we  intend  to  do  some  missionary  work.  Up,  up 
we  go  till,  on  reaching  the  top,  we  overlook  the 
plain  in  all  its  spring  beauty,  the  winter  wheat 
even  now  being  nearly  ready  for  the  sickle. 
The  morning  mists  hang  low  on  the  mountains 
and,  across  the  plain,  looms  up  our  home  with 
the  white  College  buildings  standing  out  against 
the  dark  mountain-side,  making  a  lovely  picture. 

We  are  now  on  the  top  of  this  part  of  the 
Taurus  mountains  and  shall  pass  the  night  at 
the  Khan,  situated  on  the  beautiful  Lake  of 
Guljik,  which  lies  in  the  bosom  of  the  mountain 
and  is  said  to  resemble  the  sea  of  Galilee.  We 
are  glad  enough  to  rest,  for  we  have  not  yet  got 
on  our  travelling  legs.  We  shall  grow  stronger 
before  we  reach  the  rougher  and  more  trying 
part  of  our  journey. 

The  next  morning  our  ride  is  through  pictur- 
esque mountain  scenery.  Sometimes  the  moun- 
tains are  far  above  us  as  we  ride  along  their 
sides,  and  a  mountain  torrent  goes  rushing  to  the 
sea  far  below. 

We  feel  a  little  nervous  when  we  must  go 
very  near  the  edge  of  the  road  to  let  a  wagon  or 
caravan  pass.     We  know  there  is  danger,  but 

133 


Missions  in  Eden 

we  learn  to  be  brave  and  trust  to  Him  whom  we 
have  asked  to  care  for  us.  We  soon  reach  a 
strange,  weird  town  in  the  mountains,  called 
Bakar  Maden  (Copper  Mine).  At  night  it  forcibly 
reminds  us  of  Tophet.  Here  are  streams  yellow 
with  sulphur  or  blue  with  vitriol.  This  mine, 
under  a  government  that  would  develop  it, 
would  be  a  source  of  much  wealth;  but  little 
copper  is  taken  out  by  the  present  government. 

Next  day  we  are  on  the  plain  of  Diarbekir,  and 
the  tall  grass  and  dark  earth  remind  us  of  the 
rich  prairies  of  our  native  land.  The  horses  are 
wide-awake  now  and  move  rapidly  over  the 
plain  as  if  they  know  they  have  left  the  barren 
mountains.  Sometimes  they  even  break  into  a 
run,  when  the  driver  seems  pleased  and  lets 
them  go.  We  know  the  wagons  are  strong  and 
not  easily  upset;  then  these  drivers  seem  to  know 
what  they  can  do  with  their  horses.  Sooner  than 
we  expect  the  black  walls  and  towers  of  Diar- 
bekir loom  up  in  the  distance. 

You  may  here  see  one  of  the  finest  specimens 
of  an  ancient  walled  city  to  be  found  in  this  part 
of  Asia.  This  is  no  other  than  the  Black  Amida 
of  the  Romans,  and  near  here  were  fought  some 
terrible  battles  in  ancient  times.  The  Armenians 
call  this  city  Dikranagerd  or  Tigranocerta,  the 

134 


"Over  the  Taurus  Mountains" 

city  of  Tigranes,  who  built  it.  The  walls  are 
built  of  dark  basalt  which  gave  it  the  name  of 
Black  Amida.  The  great  northern  gate  is  open 
and  the  driver  is  entering  the  city,  but  I  fear  he 
will  not  get  far,  for  the  streets  are  narrow — in 
many  places  not  wide  enough  for  wagons. 

We  spend  the  Sabbath  here  at  the  home  of  a 
rich  Syrian  who  entertains  us  with  Oriental 
politeness.  His  house  is  well  built  of  dark  ba- 
saltic stone  like  that  used  for  the  city  walls,  the 
blocks  being  set  in  white  cement,  which  gives  it 
a  less  gloomy  appearance.  It  is  built  upon  four 
sides  of  a  large  court,  with  a  fountain  in  the 
middle  and  stone  steps  leading  into  the  family 
apartments.  Turkish  rugs  cover  the  stone  floors 
and  pretty  divans  with  cushions  give  the  whole 
an  appearance  of  luxury.  We  cross  the  court 
to  the  dining-room,  where  only  the  host  and  his 
mother-in-law  sit  at  table  with  us,  while  the 
pretty  wife  and  the  sister-in-law  are  in  the 
kitchen  helping  about  the  food;  they  would 
hardly  feel  that  they  had  honored  us  should  they 
leave  this  to  the  servants  alone.  The  sister-in- 
law  has  been  a  pupil  in  our  College,  and  Toma 
Effendi,  our  host,  has  two  daughters  there  now. 
This  in  part  accounts  for  our  being  the  guests  of 
this  Syrian  family. 

135 


Missions  in  Eden 

In  this  city  the  Rev.  Augustus  Walker  built  up 
a  most  flourishing  church.  He  fell  a  victim  to 
cholera  while  ministering  to  his  beloved  people 
whom  he  would  not  leave  when  this  scourge 
visited  this  city.  By  laboring  for  hours  he  suc- 
ceeded in  saving  the  life  of  a  young  man  who 
was  plague  stricken;  but  returned  to  his  own 
home  to  die  within  a  few  hours.  His  people 
took  up  his  lifeless  body  and,  mid  great  lamen- 
tation, bore  it  to  its  last  resting-place,  not  far 
from  the  banks  of  the  Tigris.  The  church  he 
planted  here  is  still  flourishing  and  is  among  the 
strongest  of  our  self-supporting  churches. 

Monday  we  go  on  to  Mardin  over  one  of  the 
roughest  of  wagon  roads.  At  times  it  seems  as 
if  we  should  be  thrown  on  the  rocks;  but  the 
alert  wagoneers  seem  always  ready  to  steady  the 
almost  overturned  wagons,  and  we  reach  Mardin 
without  accident  after  a  two  days'  journey. 

With  many  windings  we  reach  the  top  of 
what  might  be  called  a  mountain.  No — not  the 
top,  for  a  famous  old  citadel  is  still  farther  up, 
and  if  it  could  speak,  what  a  wonderful  history  it 
would  tell.  Under  the  Saracens  this  city  was  a 
famous  seat  of  learning,  with  its  113  schools — of 
which  the  ruins  of  one  only  remains.  What 
could    more   strikingly  illustrate  the   backward 

136 


"  Over  the  Taurus  Mountains  " 

tendency  of  lands  that  have  fallen  under  Turkish 
rule. 

Here  we  spent  several  days  resting  in  the 
homes  of  the  missionaries,  Messrs.  Andrus, 
Ainslie  and  Gates,  some  of  whom  accompany  us 
to  Van.  We  are  glad  to  look  into  the  fine  Boys' 
High  School  and  the  Girls'  Seminary,  now  cared 
for  by  Mrs.  Andrus.  The  schools  are  doing 
good  work  and  promise  much  for  the  future  of 
this  city.  We  hope  Mrs.  Andrus  will  soon  have 
an  efficient  helper  to  fill  the  place  of  the  young 
ladies  who  are  on  a  health  furlough  in  America. 

Monday  morning  Mr.  Ainslie,  his  wife  and 
two  children,  also  Mr.  Gates,  join  us,  and  with 
moffas  and  saddles  we  set  out  for  the  last  half  of 
our  journey.  We  have  hired  bold  Kurdish  mule- 
teers, for  we  are  to  cross  over  Mesopotamia  into 
Kurdistan,  a  two  weeks'  journey.  The  mule- 
teers are  often  in  a  jangle;  but  the  kind,  sweet 
words  of  Mr.  Gates,  who  speaks  Arabic,  are  al- 
ways soothing,  and  they  seem  willing  on  the 
whole  to  make  the  hard  journey  as  easy  as  possi- 
ble. We  have  our  tents  and  they  are  feeding 
their  horses  on  grass,  so  it  is  generally,  "  Yawash, 
Yawash,"  (Slowly,  Slowly).  Sometimes  when 
we  come  to  plenty  of  grass  and  a  good  tenting 
place  at  eleven  in  the  morning  we  are  told  that 

137 


Missions  in  Eden 

there  will  not  be  found  so  good  a  place  if  we  go 
on.  So  the  four  tents  are  pitched,  and  we  be- 
come a  bustling  camp  till  darkness  brings  quiet 
and  we  sleep  in  the  wilderness  under  the 
heavenly  Father's  care,  much  as  Abraham  did  so 
long  ago. 

We,  like  him,  have  no  made  roads,  only  the 
bridle  path  of  the  caravan  over  mountain,  plain 
and  valley.  Sometimes  the  roads  are  so  precip- 
itous and  dangerous  that  we  feel  safer  on  our 
feet.  Here  we  are  travelling  in  the  bed  of  a 
small  mountain  stream,  often  crossing  and  re- 
crossing  to  get  round  the  big  boulders  that  have 
come  down  from  the  cliffs  which,  in  some 
places,  rise  perpendicularly  200  or  300  feet  above 
the  stream.  Every  nook  and  crannie  is  covered 
with  mosses,  ferns  or  lovely  little  flowers, 
coming  out  of  the  very  rocks  to  cheer  us.  In 
one  place  we  come  to  a  natural  gateway  just 
wide  enough  for  the  moffas  and  the  loaded 
animals  to  pass. 

One  night  we  are  not  far  away  from  a  famous 
old  walled  city  that  played  a  prominent  part  in 
the  wars  between  the  Persians  and  Armenians. 
Many  of  the  houses  are  hewn  out  of  the  lime 
stone  cliffs,  and  the  waterway,  cut  into  the 
mountain-side,  shows  how  they  had  been  sup- 

138 


"Over  the  Taurus  Mountains" 

plied  with  water  at  the  time  when  the  city  was 
surrounded  with  besieging  armies.  Some  of  our 
number  go  to  see  these  ruins,  but  others  rest  so 
as  to  be  ready  for  the  hardships  of  the  morrow, 
when  we  must  cross  over  the  Tigris,  the  Hid- 
dekel  of  Eden ;  not  an  easy  task,  for  there  is  a 
strong  current  when  the  water  is  high. 

After  a  little  more  than  two  hours'  ride  we  are 
on  its  banks.  The  animals  are  all  unloaded. 
The  men  are  busy  blowing  up  goatskins, 
eight  of  which  are  bound  together  and  boards 
placed  upon  them  to  form  a  raft.  First  we  mis- 
sionaries are  paddled  over.  Then  the  raft  re- 
turns and  brings  the  loads.  After  these  are  safely 
landed  the  horses  of  the  missionaries  which  can- 
not be  trusted  to  swim  alone,  are  held  by  the 
bridle  and  towed  across.  The  remaining  animals 
are  stoned  into  the  stream,  and  it  is  an  exciting 
scene  to  watch  them.  The  current  on  the  Meso- 
potamian  bank  runs  down  stream,  but  on  the 
Kurdistan  side  it  runs  up. 

When  we  went  over  on  the  raft  the  men 
paddled  with  the  current  first  down,  then  up, 
and  the  animals  also,  guided  by  instinct,  swam 
in  the  same  direction. 

We  are  now  in  Kurdistan  at  the  very  place 
where  Xenophon  and  his  ten  thousand  passed 

139 


Missions  in  Eden 

over  the  Tigris  from  Mesopotamia,  when  he  fled 
toward  the  Black  Sea. 

We  find  a  delegation  of  Kurdish  Armenian 
Christians  waiting  to  welcome  us.  Redwan, 
our  Kurdish  missionary  station,  is  only  a  short 
distance  away,  and  here  we  are  to  spend  the 
Sabbath. 

After  camping  for  the  night  we  proceed  to 
Redwan.  About  a  mile  this  side  of  the  city  we 
hear  singing;  a  crowd  of  men,  women  and 
children  are  coming  to  meet  us,  preceded  by  a 
tall  boy  who  carries  a  red  flag  on  which  is  the 
word,  "Welcome,"  in  white  letters.  We  enter 
the  village  preceded  by  this  band  singing  Moody 
and  Sankey  Hymns  in  Kurdish.  You  can  have 
no  idea  what  it  means  to  them  or  what  it  is 
to  us  to  have  such  a  welcome  into  dark  Kurd- 
istan. 

On  the  Sabbath  we  have  a  communion  serv- 
ice in  five  languages,  Kurdish,  Armenian,  Turk- 
ish, Arabic  and  English.  Pastor  Kavme  under- 
stands all  these  languages.  He  knew  the  first 
before  he  came  to  Harpoot  where  he  was  edu- 
cated in  our  High  School  and  Theological  Semi- 
nary. Many  of  the  brethren  go  with  us  on  Mon- 
day to  Tul,  where  we  have  another  outstation. 
Here  we  spend  the  night  and  examine  the  ruins 

140 


"Over  the  Taurus  Mountains" 

of  an  old  walled  city.  A  bridge  once  spanned 
the  Tigris  here,  and  parts  of  the  old  abutments 
are  still  standing.  Tul  is  now  a  small  village 
often  ravaged  by  the  Kurds.  The  houses  are 
strongly  built  and  the  doors  are  low  so  that 
horsemen  may  not  ride  in  and  over  the  household 
goods  of  the  owner.  The  low  doors  and  strong 
shutters  of  the  windows  are  so  arranged  as  to  be 
securely  barred  at  a  moment's  warning.  When 
we  ask  why  the  fireplace  is  in  the  middle  of  the 
room  and  has  no  hole  over  it  as  in  the  villages  on 
our  Harpoot  plain,  we  are  told  that  it  is  built 
there  for  safety,  so  the  Kurds  cannot  kill  the 
women  at  work.  This  means  that  the  smoke 
must  find  its  way  out  of  several  small  holes  in 
other  parts  of  the  roof. 

Every  man  carries  his  big  knife  or  short  sword 
at  his  belt  to  defend  himself  if  attacked  by  the 
Kurds.  The  chief  man  of  the  village  became  a 
Christian  and  set  himself  to  save  the  rest.  He 
built  a  chapel,  had  a  preacher  come  and  then 
went  out  and  gathered  in  the  people.  If  he 
could  not  persuade  them  to  come,  he  said,  "  You 
may  leave  this  village.  I  will  not  allow  a  God- 
less man  to  live  here."  Before  his  conversion  he 
had  been  a  great  fighter,  and  the  people  knew  he 
meant  what  he  said.     He  succeeded  in  what  we 

141 


Missions  in  Eden 

might  call  muscular  Christianity,  for  all  the  people 
came. 

We  rest  for  the  night  at  Tul,  and  then  wind 
our  way  up  the  steep  path  that  leads  us  toward 
the  city  of  Bitlis,  right  in  the  midst  of  the  wild 
mountain  scenery  of  Kurdistan.  Soon  we  hear 
the  Bitlis  river  as  it  comes  tumbling  down 
over  the  rocks.  We  follow  this  for  hours,  com- 
ing at  length  to  an  old  caravansary  which  must 
have  been  the  stopping  place  of  caravans  from 
Persia  hundreds  of  years  ago.  It  is  now  de- 
serted, and  we  pitch  our  tent  for  the  night 
near  by.  The  proximity  of  the  snow-capped 
mountains  makes  it  so  cold  that  we  need  all  our 
wraps. 

The  early  morning  finds  us  enroute.  The  air 
is  invigorating  and  we  shall  reach  Bitlis  before 
the  sun  is  hot  enough  to  make  us  uncomfort- 
able. The  last  few  hours  are  shortened  by  the 
meeting  of  some  of  the  missionaries  who  have 
come  out  to  bring  us  into  the  city. 

This  city,  like  Diarbekir,  is  built  of  dark  stone, 
and  has  one  of  the  best  church  edifices  in  our 
Mission.  Here  too  is  a  good  High  School  for 
boys  where  Mrs.  Knapp  has  prepared  many  lads 
for  Euphrates  College.  Here  the  Misses  Ely 
have  their  model  High  School,  the  Mt.  Holyoke 

142 


"Over   the  Taurus  Mountains" 

of  Kurdistan.  What  a  home  welcome  we  get 
here.  The  food  tastes  so  good  and  everything  is 
so  neat  and  clean.  They  have  kept  their  dainties 
for  us  and  have  prepared  their  best  rooms.  In 
fact  I  do  believe  they  have  moved  into  tents  and 
storerooms,  for  the  house  cannot  have  rooms 
enough  for  us  all.  When  we  start  on  the  last 
three  days'  stretch  that  lies  between  us  and  Van 
we  find  they  have  filled  all  our  empty  boxes  with 
fresh  bread,  cake  and  doughnuts,  and  some  of 
their  fresh,  sweet  butter. 

We  shall  enjoy  the  route  that  leads  away  from 
this  most  picturesque  city  perched  upon  its 
mountain  crags,  resembling  more  an  eagle's  nest 
than  a  crowded  city.  We  cross  the  noisy  Bitlis 
river  over  a  well-built  bridge  and  are  in  the  midst 
of  what  might  be  called  New  England  scenery. 
We  enjoy  this  all  the  way  to  the  head  of  Lake 
Van,  an  inland  sea  forty  miles  wide  and  eighty 
long.  This  beautiful  blue  lake  is  a  glorious  vi- 
sion reflecting  in  its  still  waters  all  the  lovely  hues 
of  the  overhanging  trees.  Further  away  from 
the  banks  the  clouds  vie  with  the  trees  in  dis- 
playing their  wonderful  panorama.  The  only 
things  lacking  to  make  the  scene  homelike  are 
the  white  winged  boats  and  steamers  that  would 
cover  such    a  body  of    water  in  the  western 

143 


Missions  in  Eden 

world.  We  see  only  now  and  then  the  lateen 
sail  of  the  small  boat. 

The  city  of  Van  on  the  opposite  shore  is  too 
distant  to  be  seen.  We  are  told  by  some  that 
this  city  was  built  by  Semeramis,  but  we  cannot 
vouch  for  the  truth  of  this.  We  only  know  that 
old  Nebuchadnezzar  mustered  his  armies  on  the 
plains  before  it,  and  it  has  doubtless  witnessed 
many  bloody  encounters.  It  is  the  seat  of  civil 
and  military  government  in  the  province,  and  the 
consulates  of  Russia,  Persia  and  England  are 
here.  Two  French  Fathers  have  a  Mission  here 
as  well  as  four  missionaries  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M. 
Many  of  the  resident  Armenians  carry  on  trade 
with  Constantinople  and  some  parts  of  the  town 
are  much  more  European  than  Harpoot.  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Reynolds,  and  the  Misses  Kimball  and 
Johnson,  welcome  us  to  their  homes  where  we 
find  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Chambers  of  Erzeroom,  and 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Cochran  and  the  Misses  Van  Duzee 
and  Cochran  from  Persia. 

We  have  a  most  enjoyable  ten  days'  meeting 

together,  so  much  like  the  one  at  Harpoot  that 

we  will  only  take  you  to  the  great  dinner  to  be 

served  at  the  English  consulate  in  honor  of  the 

Americans.     We  all  dress  in  our  best  garments, 

and  some   of  us   even   go  to  Dr.    Kimball    to 

144 


"Over  the  Taurus  Mountains" 

ask  her  if  she  will  be  ashamed  of  her  guests. 
She  declares  that  she  is  surprised  at  our  stylish 
appearance.  The  old  silk  dresses  had  been  re- 
newed according  to  the  patterns  sent  from  the 
home-land;  the  old  laces  had  been  brought  out 
from  boxes  and  arranged  for  this  annual  meeting. 
When  we  reach  the  Consulate  the  Kurdish 
band  of  the  Military  Pasha  is  skillfully  playing 
very  homelike  music.  The  consul  meets  us  on 
the  steps  and,  as  he  is  not  married,  acts  the  part 
of  both  host  and  hostess.  We  lay  aside  our 
wraps  in  the  waiting-hall  where  Armenian  and 
Greek  servants  are  in  attendance.  The  consul 
gives  his  arm  to  the  eldest  of  the  ladies  and  leads 
her  to  the  reception-hall,  the  others  following  in 
the  order  of  their  ages.  He  introduces  her  to  the 
guests  according  to  their  rank,  commencing  with 
the  military  Pasha,  a  fine  looking  man,  and  so  on 
to  the  Russian  and  Persian  consuls,  the  French 
Fathers  and  the  Greek  and  Armenian  Effendis. 
She  is  glad  when  the  ordeal  is  over  and  looks 
with  interest  while  the  others  are  being  intro- 
duced. Dr.  Barnum,  our  Turkish  speaking  mis- 
sionary, is  placed  beside  the  Governor  and  we  all 
find  ourselves  quite  at  ease  in  the  home  of  genial 
consul  Barnham  who  has  spent  some  time  at 

Harpoot  in  days  gone  by. 

145 


Missions  in  Eden 

Dinner  is  served  in  a  large  hall  hung  with  flags. 
The  band  just  outside  gives  us  sweet  music. 
Each  lady  goes  to  dinner  on  the  arm  of  one 
with  whom  she  can  converse.  There  are  Eng- 
lishmen, Turks,  Armenians,  Greeks,  Frenchmen, 
Persians  and  Russians  present.  The  consul  is 
very  ingenious  in  seating  his  guests  so  that  all 
enjoy  their  dinner.  When  the  toast  to  the  Queen 
of  England  is  proposed  the  band  strikes  up 
"  God  save  the  Queen."  Other  toasts  are  given, 
one  being  to  the  American  ladies,  to  which  the 
consul  replies. 

The  annual  meeting  at  Van  is  over  all  too  soon 
and  we  hasten  back  to  Harpoot  to  the  Com- 
mencement exercises  of  Euphrates  College. 


146 


PART  II 

Weighed  and  Not  Found  Wanting 


XII 

GREGORY  THE   MARTYR 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Dunmore,  on  a  missionary  jour- 
ney from  Mesopotamia  over  the  Taurus  Mountains 
to  Armenia,  at  the  close  of  the  third  day's  jour- 
ney looked  down  upon  a  beautiful  plain  covered 
with  wide  fields  of  golden  grain.  Many  villages 
nestled  among  the  green  gardens  and  vineyards. 

To  the  north  the  city  of  Harpoot,  perched  on 
her  rocky  battlements  above  the  plain,  with  her 
grim  castle,  older  than  the  Crusades,  watched 
like  a  sentinel  over  the  homes  at  her  feet.  The 
missionary  dismounted  and,  leading  his  weary 
steed  down  the  steep  descent,  gazed  upon  the 
beautiful  panorama.  Far  below  he  could  hear 
the  lowing  of  cattle  and  the  tinkling  of  bells  as 
the  herdsmen  drove  home  the  herds  for  the  coming 
night ;  even  the  cries  of  the  children  sounded 
shrill  on  the  evening  air.  All  at  once,  from  every 
village  and  hamlet  little  spirals  of  smoke  began 
to  ascend  and,  catching  the  rays  of  the  setting 
sun,  formed  a  silver  cloud  that  shut  in  the  vil- 
lagers to  their  evening  meal. 

Remounting  his  steed,  in  a  few  moments  he 

149 


Missions  in  Eden 

enters  the  nearest  village  and  asks  for  entertain- 
ment. Hospitality  requires  the  head  man  of  the 
village  to  provide  him  with  a  room  and  whatever 
he  needs.  After  seeing  that  his  horse  is  properly 
cared  for,  being  urged  by  his  host  to  make  him- 
self as  comfortable  as  possible  till  his  supper  is 
prepared,  he  unbinds  his  extra  wraps  and  puts 
his  saddle  bags  in  a  cool  place  for  a  seat.  He 
asks  his  host  the  name  of  the  village  and  how 
many  villages  there  are  on  this  plain. 

"  Cheleby,  (Honorable)  we  are  told  that  there 
are  on  Harpoot  plain  as  many  villages  as  there 
are  days  in  the  year.  I  am  only  a  poor  villager 
and  cannot  read  books,  but  our  wise  men  tell  us 
that  the  great  river  of  Eden,  the  Euphrates,  flows 
down  from  the  snows  of  those  high  mountains 
you  see  at  the  north,  and  that  growing  larger  and 
larger,  it  is  finally  lost  in  the  great  sea.  I  have 
been  to  Harpoot  and  beyond,  and  I  have  seen  the 
Great  River,  and  indeed  it  flows  round  our  plain. 
Hagopos,  bring  the  Cheleby's  dinner!  He  must 
be  hungry,  and  it  is  getting  late." 

The  little  round  table  of  well  scrubbed  wood 
is  placed  on  a  stool  before  the  missionary,  and 
upon  it  is  placed  the  cracked  wheat,  cooked  with 
a  little  meat,  and  a  bowl  of  buttermilk. 

"What  a  field  for  missionary  work,"  said  the 

150 


Gregory  the  Martyr 

traveller,  as  he  lay  down  to  sleep  on  his  hard 
couch.  "I  have  come  from  the  banks  of  the 
Hiddekel  and  here  is  the  greater  Euphrates.  Who 
shall  say  we  may  not  be  in  Eden  ?  " 

In  the  morning,  a  few  hours'  ride  brought  Mr. 
Dunmore  to  the  city  on  the  hill.  It  was  soon 
noised  abroad  that  a  Frank  was  at  the  khan,  and 
many  were  interested  to  know  what  brought 
this  foreigner  to  Harpoot.  A  few  heard  that  he 
was  a  missionary  on  his  way  to  Arabkir,  and 
among  those  who  came  to  call  in  the  evening 
was  a  timid  young  man,  with  a  sweet,  soft  voice 
who  bought  an  Armenian  Testament. 

Gregory,  the  man  who  bought  the  Testament, 
knew  how  to  read,  for  he  had  been  a  church- 
reader  in  his  native  village  of  Mashkir.  At  that 
time  (over  forty  years  ago)  few  beside  priests 
and  church-readers  could  read.  You  may  be 
sure  he  carefully  concealed  this  little  book  when 
he  returned  to  his  tailor-shop  in  the  town  of 
Mezereh,  two  miles  from  Harpoot,  for  it  would 
bring  great  reproach  upon  him  and  probably  cost 
him  his  place,  so  bitter  was  the  feeling  at  that 
time  against  the  missionary  and  his  Prote  '  book. 
It  must  have  been  difficult  for  him  to  find  the 


1  The  name  given  by  Gregorians  to  Protestants  and  often  pronounced 
"  Prode  "  meaning  leper. 

151 


Missions  in  Eden 

place  and  time  safely  to  read  and  meditate  upon 
its  truths  ;  but  we  do  know  that  the  light  from 
its  sacred  page  entered  his  heart  and  illumined 
his  soul.  He  was  religious  by  nature  ;  a  kind 
and  gentle  youth  ;  much  we  believe  like  the 
young  man  who  came  to  Christ  and  asked, 
"What  shall  I  do  to  inherit  eternal  life?"  I 
think  he  must  have  kept  all  the  church  fasts  and 
feasts,  being  one  of  the  most  zealous  of  choir- 
boys, and  later,  church-readers. 

The  Testament  was  read  and  reread,  as  he  had 
no  other  book  save  a  Church  Psalter.  The 
birth  of  Jesus,  His  parables,  and  the  sermon  on 
the  mount,  were  to  young  Gregory  intensely 
interesting.  The  parables  and  teachings  of  Christ 
were  so  different  from  anything  he  had  ever 
heard  from  the  priests  and  bishops  who  had 
taught  him  to  believe  in  fasts,  prayers  to  the 
Virgin  and  to  the  saints,  and  even  in  pictures  and 
holy  relics.  He  seemed  like  one  awaking  from  a 
wonderful  dream.  With  tearful  eyes  he  fol- 
lowed the  narrative  of  Christ's  trial  and  condem- 
nation, and  when  He  died  on  the  cross,  Gregory 
was  almost  heartbroken.  Yet  he  did  not  wholly 
comprehend  all  that  this  wonderful  Saviour  was 
to  be  to  him. 

The  story  of  the  Virgin  Mary  as  told  in  the 

152 


Gregory  the  Martyr 

gospel  of  Luke,  he  found  to  be  much  like  what 
his  mother  had  taught  him  when  a  little  boy. 
She  was  the  mother  of  Jesus,  and  Jesus  was 
God.  Why  should  he  not  worship  her?  Was 
she  not  the  mother  of  God  ?  He  was  much  per- 
plexed. To  whom  should  he  go  ?  It  was  no 
use  to  go  to  his  priest  or  the  bishop.  They 
would  only  rebuke  him,  a  tailor,  for  asking  such 
a  question.  He  read  in  Luke  beautiful  things 
about  the  Virgin;  but  nowhere  did  it  say  she 
should  be  worshipped  or  would  answer  prayers. 
"  If  she  could  not  answer  prayer,"  he  said, 
"surely  the  other  saints  could  not."  When  he 
saw  his  dear  mother  and  others  he  loved  bowing 
before  the  Virgin  and  the  pictures  of  the  saints 
that  hung  on  the  church  walls,  his  heart  was 
filled  with  sorrow.  Could  it  be  true  that  they 
were  wrong  ?  Did  the  Bible  of  God  say  so — that 
beautiful  Book  that  the  people  might  kiss,  when 
his  bishop,  with  holy  hands,  brought  it  out  from 
under  the  sacred  altar?  This  Testament  in  his 
girdle  was  a  part  of  that  Book,  and  he  resolved 
to  study  it  carefully;  then  sometime  he  might 
have  a  Bible  of  his  own  to  read,  where  he  should 
find  all  the  things  he  wished  to  know. 

He    sometimes    found   himself  in  great  per- 
plexity, as  in  John  iii.  3,  where  Jesus  says  to 

153 


Missions  in  Eden 

Nicodemus,  "Ye  must  be  born  again."  He  had 
been  baptized  in  infancy.  He  was  not  a  heathen 
nor  a  disbeliever,  but  a  Christian.  Nicodemus 
belonged  to  the  Jewish  Church,  and  was  a  great 
ruler  in  that  church,  yet  Jesus  said  to  him,  "Ye 
must  be  born  again."  "Born  of  the  Spirit" 
puzzled  him  still  more.  He  had  seen  the  white 
dove  above  the  altar  and  knew  that  it  symbolized 
the  Holy  Spirit;  but  of  His  working  he  knew 
nothing.  We  believe  that  the  Spirit  Himself 
taught  this  earnest  seeker  after  the  truth,  and 
that  before  the  missionaries  came  He  began  to 
explain  to  him  what  he  longed  to  know;  but  it 
was  several  years  later  that  he  fixed  upon  as  the 
date  of  his  new  birth. 

That  we  may  measure  the  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  this  young  man  who  went  about  his 
daily  task  with  his  Testament  in  his  girdle,  we 
must  consider  the  bitter  feeling  against  the 
Protes  and  the  Prote  book  that  he  must  encounter 
on  every  hand.  The  townspeople  seized  those 
who  dared  to  possess  a  Testament  and  gave  them 
a  severe  beating,  declaring  that  they  would  have 
no  Prote  in  their  town.  Priests  cursed  all  who 
should  venture  to  read  this  book.  Fathers 
threatened  to  disinherit  their  sons  for  visiting  the 
missionaries,  and  even  drove  them  with  curses 

154 


Gregory  the  Martyr 

from  their  homes.  Mothers  told  their  children 
that  they  would  rather  they  should  become 
Turks  than  to  read  that  Bible.  And  Gregory 
knew  that  his  wife  and  mother  would  be  greatly 
grieved  if  they  discovered  that  he  not  only  had  a 
Testament  but  read  it  and  prayed  daily  that  they 
might  accept  its  truths. 

When  at  length  the  new  missionaries  opened  a 
Bible  Training  School  for  young  men,  he  felt 
that  God  was  calling  him  to  give  up  the  tailor- 
shop  and  enter  this  school.  But  to  do  this  he 
felt  that  he  must  sacrifice  all  that  he  loved. 
Could  he  do  this  ?  Could  he  take  this  step  that 
would  brand  him  as  a  Prote — one  who  had  lost 
his  patriotism  and  denied  his  own  church.  We 
may  well  believe  that  he  prayed  earnestly  and  long 
before  he  decided,  for  he  was  too  kind  and  gen- 
erous, hastily  to  do  what  would  grieve  his  father, 
mother  and  wife.  He  studied  his  Testament  and 
was  guided  to  choose  the  Bible  School  even  at 
the  cost  of  being  despised  by  those  whom  he 
most  loved. 

How  little  can  we  in  this  Christian  land  under- 
stand the  feelings  of  this  young  Armenian.  He 
would  not  only  be  branded  as  a  Prote  but  as  a 
Traitor  and  a  Heretic. 

Here  is  where  the  modern  Armenian  Bible  be- 

155 


Missions  in  Eden 

came  such  a  help  to  the  Armenians  in  the  earlier 
years  of  missionary  work  among  them.  When 
they  were  convinced  that  Dr.  Riggs'  translation 
of  the  Bible  into  the  modern  language  was  really 
their  own  Bible,  they  did  not  feel  that  they  were 
rejecting  their  Ancient  Armenian  version1  even 
though  they  were  persecuted  by  the  Gregorian 
church. 

In  the  class  of  seventeen  young  men,  which 
was  the  first  class  in  the  new  Bible  Training 
School,  were  found  some  more  scholarly,  but 
none  who  won  the  respect  of  all  as  did  "  Little 
Gregory."  He  was  the  one  who  seemed  more 
like  the  "beloved  disciple."  His  smile,  his 
gentle  manner,  and  his  kindness,  were  the  nat- 
ural outgrowth  of  a  loving  heart ;  and  it  is  not 
strange  that  he  was  noted  as  "the  polite  little 
tailor."  Parts  of  three  years  he  studied  at  Har- 
poot,  not  only  Theology  and  Church  History, 
but  also  Geography,  Grammar  and  Arithmetic. 
The  Bible  was  the  principal  text-book,  and  that 
was  what  he  needed.     The  time  not  engaged  in 

1  The  Ancient  Armenian  version  was  a  translation  of  the  Bible  made  by 
Mesob.  the  Holy,  in  419,  in  the  city  of  Palu.  This  ancient  language  is  not 
now  well  understood  by  the  common  people.  It  is  a  fine  translation  from 
the  Greek  and  Hebrew,  and  a  proof  of  the  scholarship  in  the  early  Armenian 
church.  It  was  not  printed  until  the  twelfth  century.  Thousands  of  man- 
uscript copies  were  prepared  in  the  monasteries,  some  beautifully  illuminated. 
Most  of  these  have  been  destroyed  by  the  conquerors  of  the  country.  The 
people  were  justly  proud  of  these  real  works  of  art,  for  they  were  almost 
the  only  thing  that  the  hand  of  the  earlier  destroyer  had  left  to  these  op- 
pressed Christians. 

156 


Gregory  the  Martyr 

study  he  spent  in  evangelistic  work  among  the 
villages;  and  while  not  a  great  preacher,  his  per- 
sonal influence  was  powerful. 

After  graduation  he  was  called  to  the  large  vil- 
lage of  Ichmeh,  twenty  miles  to  the  southeast  of 
Harpoot.  Perhaps  there  was  no  village  in  all  the 
field  so  difficult  to  manage,  as  most  of  the  Prot- 
estants there  were  accustomed  to  think  and  to 
act  for  themselves  ;  for  when  the  gospel  entered, 
it  did  not  reach  the  poor  and  lower  classes  alone, 
but  also  the  more  thoughtful  and  well-to-do. 
One  of  the  best  men  in  the  village,  whom  all  es- 
teemed, began  to  read  the  gospel  and  to  make 
his  influence  felt.  Bedros  (Peter),  the  carpenter, 
who  had  served  in  the  Turkish  army  during  the 
Crimean  war,  was  another  early  adherent.  His 
wife  soon  learned  to  read  and  "  Prote  Markareed  " 
(Margaret),  as  she  was  called,  began  immediately 
to  work  for  her  neighbors.  She  filled  her  strong, 
homespun,  red  apron  with  primers,  and  went 
from  house  to  house  to  persuade  and  teach  the 
women.  When  one  had  learned  to  read,  she 
quickly  ordered  a  Testament  from  the  city,  and 
kept  up  the  lessons  till  she  could  be  left  alone. 

Gregory,  daily  growing  into  the  love  and  sym- 
pathy of  his  people,  won  the  rich  as  well  as  the 
poor.     Gulaser  (Lover  of  Roses),  the  rich  shoe- 

157 


Missions  in  Eden 

dealer,  a  tall,  noble  looking  man,  was  seen  going 
to  the  chapel  ;  and  not  long  after  his  manly  son, 
Mardiros  (Martyr),  and  his  three  brothers,  fol- 
lowed their  father.  They  came  home  with  such 
glowing  accounts  of  the  sermons  that  their 
mother,  Hach  Hattoon  (Lady  of  the  Cross),  de- 
termined to  go  some  Sabbath  and  hear  for  her- 
self. She  was  really  the  head  of  the  household, 
though  not  the  oldest  bride.  Her  husband's 
brother,  Boghos  (Paul),  the  Goldsmith,  was 
older  than  Gulaser,  and  thus,  by  right  and  honor, 
at  the  head  of  this  patriarchal  family  of  forty 
souls.  Paul's  wife  was  partially  blind,  so  the 
second  bride  took  her  place,  as  the  mother-in- 
law  was  dead. 

Hach  Hattoon  did  not  wish  to  disobey  or  dis- 
honor Paul  who  had  said  to  his  wife,  "  I  will 
beat  you,  if  you  ever  go  to  the  Prote  chapel." 
So  she  chose  to  wait  and  go  when  he  was  away. 
When  she  did  go,  she  was  greatly  delighted 
with  the  services,  and  it  did  not  require  much 
persuasion  to  induce  her  to  learn  to  read.  Her 
boys  brought  home  a  primer  saying,  "Mother, 
mother,  you  must  learn  to  read.  Look,  it's  so 
easy — aip,  pen,  kim,  (a,  b,  c).  Repeat  them." 
They  followed  her  about  the  house  repeating  the 
first  letters  over  and  over  again  till  she  learned 

158 


Bread  Making.  Spinning  and  Winding. 

Village  Scenes. 


Gregory  the  Martyr 

them.  She  put  her  primer  under  her  cushion 
where  she  was  accustomed  to  sit  and  spin,  and 
often  pulled  it  out  to  repeat  over  the  letters. 

The  day  for  bread-making  came,  when  all  the 
neighboring  women  gathered  to  help.  (Baking 
is  usually  done  once  a  month  in  large  families. 
It  is  a  grand  Baking  Bee,  or  in  Occidental 
phrase  a  Woman's  Baking  Club.)  Hach  Hattoon 
was  just  beginning  to  spell  out  short  words  and, 
being  a  strong,  energetic  woman,  had  rolled  out 
into  thin  cakes  more  dough  than  the  baking 
women1  had  made  use  of,  so,  having  a  little 
time  on  her  hands,  she  f>ulled  out  her  book,  and 
what  was  her  delight,  as  she  spelled  out  the  first 
word  "  ho,  aip,  tzo,"  to  learn  from  her  son  that 
it  was  "hatz"  bread.  Very  soon  she  was  read- 
ing in  her  Testament  of  Christ  the  Living  Bread. 

Boghos'  wife  was  so  interested  in  what  she 
heard  at  home  of  the  Little  Preacher  that  she  de- 
termined one  Wednesday  evening  to  go  to  the 
prayer-meeting.  She  said,  "  I  knew  my  hus- 
band would  be  busy  in  his  shop  that  evening,  and 
would  not  find  out  that  I  had  been  to  church; 
I  crept  quietly  under  the  wall,  so  that  he  should 

1  In  that  region  the  oven  is  a  hole  in  the  floor  like  a  shallow  well,  lined 
with  flat  stones.  The  fire  is  built  in  the  bottom  and,  when  the  oven  is  suffi- 
ciently heated,  the  bread  is  plastered  on  to  the  sides.  It  requires  a  woman 
with  considerable  skill  and  dexterity  to  put  the  bread  on,  and  to  keep  it  from 
burning,  she  must  sit  there  with  her  long  iron  hook  ready  to  take  it  out  at 
the  right  moment.     Bread-baking  is  a  regular  trade. 

159 


Missions  in  Eden 

not  see  me,  and  went.  I  was  filled  with  joy  at 
the  words  I  heard ;  but  my  joy  soon  turned  to 
consternation,  when  on  coming  out,  I  came  face 
to  face  with  my  husband.  I  knew  I  had  done 
wrong,  and  expected  a  beating.  Boghos  came 
home,  and  taking  me  by  the  hand,  said,  'Did  I 
not  tell  you  I  would  beat  you  if  you  entered  the 
Prote  Chapel  ? '  I  trembled  all  over.  1  felt  that 
he  had  a  right  to  beat  me,  as  I  had  disobeyed. 
He  looked  me  in  the  eye  and  said,  smiling, 
'Yeghesa,  [Lizzie,]  I  will  not  beat  you.  You 
may  go  to  prayer-meeting.'"  The  same  sweet 
voice  that  had  won  hrs  strong,  manly  brother, 
had  won  him  also;  he  too  was  at  this  same 
Wednesday  evening  prayer-meeting,  and  hence- 
forth that  family  of  forty  souls  was  a  household 
for  Christ. 

The  time  had  come  for  the  people  to  invite 
Gregory  to  become  their  pastor.  Though  the 
house  used  as  a  chapel  was  small,  and  the  one 
for  parsonage  so  small  that  one  of  the  mission- 
aries called  it  "The  Mouse  Hole,"  the  people 
could  not  wait  to  build  a  new  chapel  and  par- 
sonage, for  they  wanted  to  feel  that  this  man  be- 
longed to  them. 

Every  effort  was  put  forth  to  raise  as  much  of 
his  salary  as   possible.      When   he  heard  how 

160 


Gregory  the  Martyr 

much  the  missionaries  required  of  this  village 
congregation,  he  for  once  lost  faith  and  said,  "I 
do  not  believe  the  people  can  give  so  much. 
Do  not  ordain  me  over  that  people.  My  pastor- 
ate will  prove  a  failure."  His  whole  class  sym- 
pathized with  him,  and  protested  against  this, 
feeling  sure  it  would  only  be  an  injury  to  the 
cause.  A  few  weeks  later  he  was  amazed  when 
he  found  that  not  only  this  sum  was  raised  and 
ready  but  more  than  had  been  required.  When 
referring  afterward  in  a  public  meeting  to  his 
lack  of  faith  at  this  time  he  said,  "  I  wonder  the 
earth  did  not  open  her  mouth  and  swallow  me 
up.  It  was  then  I  really  gave  my  whole  heart  to 
Christ  and  was  truly  converted."  We  would 
say  it  was  another  Divine  uplift  toward  that  Sav- 
iour he  was  so  lovingly  to  confess  for  years  be- 
fore the  people  who  loved  him  so  tenderly  and 
with  whom  he  would  be  called  to  a  great  trial 
of  faith. 

The  missionaries,  the  Harpoot  Pastor  and  dea- 
cons were  invited  to  his  ordination,  which  had  to 
be  held  in  a  grove  that  all  who  wished  might  be 
present.  The  plain  chapel  pulpit  was  brought 
out  and  seats  enough  found  for  missionaries, 
Pastors  and  delegates.  An  earnest  charge  to  the 
people  was  given  by  a  missionary,  and  then  Greg- 

161 


Missions  in  Eden 

ory  knelt  before  the  pulpit  to  receive  the  con- 
secration which  made  him  a  minister  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.  Pastor  Mardiros  of  Harpoot  gave  him  the 
loving  right  hand  of  fellowship.  When  Greg- 
ory raised  his  hand  in  benediction,  many  of  the 
large  audience  were  in  tears,  not  of  sorrow,  but 
of  joy. 

The  numbers  attending  the  Protestant  services 
so  increased  that  a  larger  place  of  worship  was 
imperative.  The  people  even  came  in  such  num- 
bers that  at  times  they  really  sat  in  each  others' 
laps,  and  did  not  find  fault  either  at  being 
crowded  into  such  a  small  space.  Would  that  so 
many  people  who  cannot  bear  the  confinement 
of  an  hour  in  our  spacious  churches  might  have 
something  of  this  spirit.  How  it  would  uplift 
the  ministers  and  bless  the  hearers. 

The  people  took  the  small  grant  made  them  by 
the  missionaries  and  built  a  commodious,  but 
very  plain  church.  When  it  was  all  finished  and 
paid  for,  the  missionaries,  pastor  and  brethren 
from  Harpoot,  were  invited  to  help  dedicate  it. 

The  whole  village  was  stirred,  and  even  the 
Turks  looked  on  with  apparent  joy.  A  con- 
verted priest  and  his  wife  were  present  to  tell  of 
their  great  joy  in  finding  the  little  Pastor's  Christ. 
They  had  bought  a  Bible,  for  they  dared  not  go 

162 


Gregory  the  Martyr 

to  the  Protestant  Church.  When  their  children 
were  in  bed,  they  hung  a  curtain  before  the 
window  and,  late  into  the  night,  read  "the  old, 
old  story  of  Jesus  and  His  love."  At  length  the 
priest  said:  "Wife,  if  this  book  is  true,  we  are 
lost."  They  continued  reading  their  Bible  till 
conviction  grew  so  strong  that  the  wife  said: 
"  If  this  book  is  true,  let  us  obey  it."  The  priest 
answered,  "That  would  cost  us  our  living  and 
we  should  be  obliged  to  beg  from  door  to  door." 
"Better  do  so,  than  to  lose  our  souls,"  she  re- 
plied. 

These  troubled  ones  resolved  in  Christ's 
strength  to  go  the  next  morning  to  the  Protes- 
tant Church  and  listen  to  the  earnest  Pastor. 
They  were  welcomed  and  comforted.  The  news 
soon  reached  the  neighbors  and  showers  of 
stones  and  clods  of  earth  came  down  on  the 
priest's  house.  If  either  appeared  in  the  streets 
they  were  hooted  at  by  cries  of  "  Protel  Prote!  " 
They  however  remained  firm  and,  after  a  time 
of  trial,  came  up  to  Harpoot  to  be  instructed  in 
the  Bible  School. 

This  persecution  did  good.  Many  said  that  it 
was  uncalled  for,  as  they  were  only  reading  the 
Word  of  God.  "Why  should  we  not  all  read 
the  Bible  ?    Why  should  we  remain  as  ignorant 

163 


Missions  in  Eden 

as  the  donkeys  in  our  stables  ?"  "  For  my  part, 
I  am  glad,"  said  one,  "that  one  of  our  priests  is 
bold  enough  to  meet  this  ignorance.  May  he  re- 
turn from  the  city  to  preach  in  the  church  over 
the  Holy  Fountain." 

Soon  after  a  missionary  lady  visiting  the  vil- 
lage, was  told  by  those  once  so  hostile,  of  the 
great  change  that  had  come  to  them.  "Why  we 
all  love  Pastor  Gregory,  because  he  is  such  a 
good  man."  Even  the  Turks  began  to  call  him, 
"Badvelli  Baba,"  (Honorable  Father). 

Gulaser  had  long  desired  to  see  his  friend  and 
Pastor  in  a  better  house  and,  instead  of  the 
"Mouse  Hole,"  a  house  with  four  rooms  and  a 
hall  on  the  second  story  was  built,  so  that  the 
pastor  could  now  be  comfortable  and  have  his 
friends  from  the  city  spend  the  night  with  him : 
especially  missionaries  who  now  had  to  go  to 
good  Gulaser's  house  or  that  of  Bedros,  the 
carpenter.  There  were  other  needs  to  be  sup- 
plied in  the  minister's  home.  And  once,  when 
needing  some  books,  he  went  to  borrow  some 
money  of  the  prosperous  Bedros,  who  now  had 
two  daughters  and  a  son  at  the  college  in  Har- 
poot,  the  carpenter  said,  "  How  can  you  pay  for 
those  out  of  your  small  salary  ?  Here,  take  this," 
passing  him  twenty  dollars.   "  Get  the  books  you 

164 


Gregory  the  Martyr 

need  and  let  me  pay  for  them."  With  what  joy 
Gregory  came  to  the  missionary,  who  afterward 
told  this  story  to  some  kind  friends  in  the  home- 
land, and  in  the  end  a  good  many  new  books 
found  their  way  through  that  twenty  dollars  into 
the  pastor's  new  study. 

Gregory's  wife,  who  lived  with  his  mother  till 
he  entered  the  Bible  School,  could  not  be  easily 
prevailed  upon  to  come  to  the  school  for  women. 
It  was  not  till  after  her  father  and  brother  had 
been  persuaded  that  the  Bible  should  be  read  by 
the  people  that  she  ventured  to  leave  her  father- 
in-law's  home  and  come  to  Harpoot.  She  was 
so  timid  that  she  would  not  answer  any  question 
put  to  her  by  the  missionary  ladies.  Mingling 
among  the  other  women  in  the  school  this  ti- 
midity gradually  wore  away  so  that  she  made 
considerable  progress  in  study ;  but  she  never  so 
overcame  her  bashfulness  that  she  could  conduct 
the  women's  meetings  among  her  husband's 
people.  She  was  a  sweet  Christian,  and  her  in- 
fluence was  felt  for  good,  not  only  in  her  hus- 
band's parish,  but  outside  as  well. 

The  Pastor  had  not  an  enemy  in  the  whole  vil- 
lage among  Christians  or  Turks.  The  women 
were  first  drawn  to  him  because  he  was  so  kind 
to  his  invalid  wife.    They  would  go  in  to  help 

165 


Missions  in  Eden 

her  with  her  housework  before  they  were  ready 
to  receive  the  truths  of  the  Bible,  and  afterward 
told  the  Pastor  that  they  put  cotton  in  their  ears, 
so  they  might  not  hear  the  Bible  and  become 
"Protes."  They  said,  "  How  could  we  see  her 
suffer  and  not  go  to  help  her,  even  though  we 
thought  her  people  all  heretics." 

God  raised  up  a  very  strong  helper  for  Gregory 
and  Marta  in  the  sister  of  Gulaser,  who  for  years 
led  the  women's  work  in  Ichmeh.  It  was  an  ex- 
ceedingly pleasant  sight  to  go  into  a  woman's 
prayer-meeting  in  Gregory's  church  and  see  the 
happy  faces  of  the  women  as  they  came  with 
Testament  and  hymn-book,  for  all  loved  to  sing. 

The  parsonage  at  first  lacked  many  things, 
among  which  were  tubs.  Most  of  the  women 
washed  at  the  fountain,  "the  great  village  wash- 
tub,"  as  some  called  it;  but  Marta  was  not  strong 
enough  to  do  this.  She  disliked  to  borrow  from 
her  neighbors,  and  one  day  her  husband  found 
her  in  tears  while  trying  to  wash  in  a  large  pan. 
"What  is  it,  Marta  ?"  said  the  kind-hearted  man. 
"  Why,  Gregory,  I  dislike  to  borrow  a  tub,  and  I 
have  nothing  to  wash  in."  "  Marta,  God  will 
give  us  a  tub  if  we  trust  Him."  I  feel  sure  he 
must  have  made  a  special  plea,  for  one  evening 
not  long  after,  going  out  toward  the  city,  he  met 

166 


Gregory  the  Martyr 

the  carpenter  with  two  copper  vessels1  on  his 
mule,  and  heard  him  call  out,  "  Look  here,  Pastor 
Gregory,  these  tubs  are  for  you.  The  mission- 
aries have  sent  them  as  a  present  for  your  new 
house."  He  hastened  back  to  tell  his  wife,  "  The 
new  tubs  have  come,  a  present  from  the  mission- 
aries. Marta,  I  do  not  know  how  the  missiona- 
ries learned  we  had  no  tubs,  but  we  can  now  be 
sure  that  it  is  good  to  cast  our  burdens  on  the 
Lord.  Let  us  learn  to  take  all  our  cares  to  our 
kind  Heavenly  Father,  who  will  care  for  us  most 
tenderly." 

The  new  house  was  larger,  but  colder.  A 
missionary  lady,  spending  a  week  in  the  village, 
found  that  the  little  wife  was  suffering  from 
rheumatism.  She  soon  became  convinced  that 
lack  of  warm  clothing  was  the  cause.  Knowing 
beforehand  that  she  would  be  invited  to  dine  at 
the  well-to-do  shoe-dealer's  house,  she  had 
brought  with  her  a  nice,  warm  plush  jacket, 
given  her  by  a  friend.  Marta  seemed  to  need 
this  more  than  she  did,  so  she  put  it  onto  the 
frail,  shrinking  woman,  and  that  was  the  last 
that  we  heard  of  the  rheumatism.2    Could  some 

1  The  only  tubs  used  in  the  country  are  of  copper  and  quite  expensive. 

3  Not  long  after  this,  a  warmer,  better  cloak  came  to  the  missionary  from 
a  stranger  in  America,  who  knew  nothing  of  the  circumstances.  As  she 
took  it  out  of  the  box  she  said  to  her  husband,  "  Isn't  that  just  like  God  ? 
Only  it's  too  nice  for  me  to  wear  here." 

167 


Missions  in  Eden 

of  the  dear  Christian  ladies  in  our  churches  have 
seen  the  bright  face  and  heard  the  thank  you  that 
came  with  a  tearful  voice,  they  would  long  to 
put  into  the  hands  of  many  missionaries  the  extra 
garments  that  would  help  to  keep  warm  many  a 
half-clad  sister  of  the  Master. 

In  this  way  the  Lord  provided  for  the  good 
Pastor  and  his  wife,  and  they  seemed  to  feel  that 
their  cup  was  running  over  with  blessings.  The 
Pastor  had  no  desire  to  leave  his  flock,  nor  would 
they  listen  to  his  leaving  them.  It  proved  a 
union  for  life. 

Marta  went  from  house  to  house  visiting  the 
people,  and  none  were  more  welcome  than  she, 
for  she  had  a  pleasant  word  for  all,  and  all  the 
people  loved  her.  She  had  been  more  feeble  than 
usual  one  winter,  but  she  still  went  to  the  prayer- 
meetings.  One  afternoon  after  she  had  spoken 
very  tenderly  to  the  sisters,  and  with  an  un- 
wonted calmness,  she  went  to  her  home  and,  be- 
fore her  husband  who  was  out  calling  could 
reach  her,  passed  to  her  heavenly  home.  The 
Pastor  wrote  a  beautiful  memorial  of  her  and 
seemed  ever  after  to  live  as  one  who  felt  that 
when  she  entered  the  heavenly  city,  she  left  the 
gates  ajar  for  him. 

Two  of  the  Pastor's  sons  were  in  business  in 

168 


Gregory  the  Martyr 

Constantinople,  and  two  were  in  the  ministry. 
One  who  was  a  graduate  of  Euphrates  College, 
afterward  studied  Theology  at  Lane  Seminary, 
and  was  called  to  labor  among  the  Armenians  in 
Tabriz,  Persia. 

The  younger  son,  who  was  preaching  at  a  vil- 
lage on  the  plain,  was  invited  to  come  to  Ichmeh 
to  assist  his  father  in  his  work.  Before  he  re- 
moved to  Ichmeh  with  his  family,  the  massacre 
of  November,  1895,  passed  over  Armenia.  Ich- 
meh was  one  of  the  villages  visited  by  this  ter- 
rible persecution.  Bedros,  the  carpenter,  had 
been  called  home  a  few  months  before;  his 
house  was  looted,  but  not  burned.  The  Turks 
said  of  his  wife,  Markareed,  "It  would  be  well 
to  put  to  death  a  woman  who  dared  to  with- 
stand even  a  Turk." 

Gulaser,  the  Pastor's  great  and  good  friend,  the 
most  honorable  among  the  Christians,  was  be- 
headed with  a  sword  as  he  sat  in  his  house;  his 
brother,  Boghos,  nearly  eighty  years  of  age,  was 
dragged  from  his  sick  bed,  stripped  of  his  cloth- 
ing, and  left  to  die.  Gulaser's  son  Mardiros,  was 
imprisoned  with  many  others  in  the  Gregorian 
church.  Hach  Hattoon,  his  wife,  fled  with  the 
other  women  of  the  household  to  a  Turkish 
neighbor's  harem,  where  they  were  protected  till 

169 


Missions  in  Eden 

it  was  safe  to  return  to  their  own  home.  Thus 
protection  was  given  to  many  women  driven  from 
their  homes,  and  these  Christian  women  will 
never  forget  the  kindness  they  received  from 
Moslem  women. 

Pastor  Gregory's  house  was  robbed  and  he, 
stripped  of  most  of  his  garments,  left  with  the 
little  girl  he  had  adopted.  After  a  few  days  he 
too  was  sent  to  the  Gregorian  church,  and  im- 
prisoned with  some  sixty  others.  Some  of  these 
to  gain  their  liberty  accepted  the  Moslem  faith 
and  bound  on  the  white  turban,  saying,  "  In  a 
few  days  the  English  will  deliver  us;  why  should 
we  die?"  The  Pastor  comforted  those  who 
were  left  and  exhorted  them  to  trust  in  the  Lord 
Jehovah  even  unto  death.  A  Kurdish  Sheikh 
and  a  few  of  his  followers  were  called  from  the 
mountains  near  Ichmeh,  so  that  the  Turks  might 
throw  the  blame  on  the  Kurds.  The  village  of- 
ficials opened  the  church  and  brought  out  the 
Pastor,  arrayed  in  an  old  pair  of  pants,  too  old  to 
be  taken  away,  and  a  pair  of  women's  shoes. 
They  asked  him  if  he  would  repeat  the  formula 
that  would  make  him  a  Moslem. 

"We  will  make  you  a  Moolah  in  our  church  if 
you  will  accept  Mohammed." 

"Have    I   confessed   Christ  till   my   hair  has 

170 


Gregory  the  Martyr 

grown  grey,"  he  replied,  "and  shall  I  now  deny 
Him?" 

The  tall  Kurdish  Sheikh  who  was  the  judge, 
commanded  the  Kurds  to  fire,  and  the  Pastor 
fell  pierced  with  many  bullets.  "Drag  him 
away!"  said  the  chief  to  those  who  had  bound 
on  the  white  to  save  themselves.  As  they  lifted 
him  tenderly,  for  they  loved  him,  the  command 
came,  "Tie  a  rope  to  his  legs  and  drag  him 
away  like  a  dead  donkey!  " 

One  after  another  passed  through  the  ordeal 
till  the  sacred  fountain  running  out  from  under 
the  church  was  one  of  blood. 

Then  came  the  tall,  noble  son  of  Gulaser, 
Deacon  Mardiros.  "Will  you  confess  Moham- 
med?" "Mardiros,"  he  said,  " have  I  lived  and 
Mardiros  will  I  die."  (Which  translated  means, 
"  Martyr  have  I  lived  and  Martyr  will  I  die.") 

The  wonderful  vison  of  the  Apocalypse  shows 
us  under  the  altar  the  souls  of  the  martyrs  "  slain 
for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony 
which  they  held:  and  they  cried  with  a  loud 
voice,  saying,  'How  long,  O  Lord,  holy  and 
true,  dost  thou  not  judge  and  avenge  our  blood 
on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth?'  And  white 
robes  were  given  unto  every  one  of  them ;  and  it 
was  said  unto  them,  that  they  should  rest  yet  for 

171 


Missions  in  Eden 

a  little  season,  until  their  fellow-servants  also 
and  their  brethren,  that  should  be  killed  as  they 
were,  should  be  fulfilled." 

Ichmeh  and  her  Christian  Church  are  in  ruins, 
but  out  of  these  ruins  shall  come  forth  a  stronger, 
nobler  church.  Those  on  the  ground  write, 
"For  God's  sake,  send  us  help."  Who  will 
enter  the  many  doors  opened  before  us  ?  Places 
never  before  accessible  to  the  missionary,  now 
call  for  spiritual  instruction.  The  Spirit  is  mov- 
ing in  the  stricken  churches. 

Who  is  ready  to  go  ? 


172 


XIII 

BOGHOS  THE  HERMIT  AND  MARTYR 

Boghos  Atlasian  was  the  son  of  Syrian  parents 
in  the  Syrian  ward  of  the  city  of  Harpoot.  Here 
he  learned  to  read  and  write  in  the  church  school. 
His  father  had  consecrated  him  to  the  priesthood, 
so  when  fourteen  years  of  age  he  was  sent 
to  a  Syrian  monastery  in  Mesopotamia.  The 
bishop  received  him  into  his  house  as  a  servant, 
allowing  him  some  time  for  study. 

He  was  greatly  troubled  when  he  saw  the 
wickedness  of  the  priests  and  acolytes,  and  when 
he  learned  that  the  bishop,  in  whose  house  he 
lived,  was  daily  breaking  the  commands  of  the 
Bible  by  sinful  relations  with  one  of  his  servants. 
Meeting  this  woman  one  day,  he  earnestly  set 
before  her  the  fearfulness  of  sin,  God's  judg- 
ments, and  the  hell  which  followed.  "What  is 
hell?"  she  said.  Putting  his  hand  into  the  fire 
and  letting  it  remain  till  burned,  he  replied,  hold- 
ing it  up,  "This  is  hell."  She  reported  this  to 
the  bishop,  who  was  so  exasperated  that  he  took 
Boghos  and  tied  him  outside  the  house  and  left 
him  there  all  night  in  the  cold  and  rain. 

173 


Missions  in  Eden 

Boghos,  feeling  sure  that  this  was  not  the  place 
for  him,  fled  and,  after  some  days'  wanderings, 
found  in  the  mountains  of  Jebel  Toor  an  old 
monastery,  uninhabited.  There  he  resolved  to 
give  himself  to  prayer,  meditation  and  the  read- 
ing of  his  Syrian  Bible.  He  could  not  trust  man, 
but  believed  God's  word  would  not  lead  him  into 
sin.  He  lived  on  the  simplest  food.  Sometimes 
a  shepherd  would  share  his  lunch  with  him. 
When  the  peasantry  on  the  plain  learned  from 
the  shepherds  that  a  very  holy  monk  lived  alone 
in  the  deserted  monastery,  they  came  to  ask  his 
prayers  in  times  of  distress  and  often  brought 
him  something  from  their  scanty  stores;  but  he 
lived  largely  on  roots,  nuts  and  acorns.  These 
he'  sometimes  powdered  with  stones  and  baked 
into  bread  in  the  sun.  In  the  spring  he  found 
some  green  herbs  which  he  remembered  his 
mother  used  as  relishes.  These  made  a  change 
in  his  scanty  diet. 

Feeling  that  he  was  not  gaining  the  wished-for 
victory  over  sin,  he  made  a  shirt  of  coarse  hair- 
cloth and  put  it  next  to  his  body  that  it  might  ir- 
ritate the  skin.  But  this  was  not  enough  to  keep 
all  sinful  thoughts  away,  so  he  made  a  whip 
with  bits  of  iron  on  the  ends  of  the  lashes,  and 
with  this  scourged  his  bare  back.     He  would 

174 


Boghos  the  Hermit  and  Martyr 

kneel  in  prayer  in  the  cold  snow  and  rain  till  his 
knees  became  sore.  When  weary  and  sleepy, 
he  would  throw  himself  across  a  rope  that  he 
might  pray  instead  of  sleep.  Sometimes  he  fell 
to  the  floor  from  exhaustion  and  remained  in- 
sensible till  sleep  refreshed  him. 

He  left  his  lonely  monastery  in  Jebel  Toor  and 
came  to  another  old  monastery  nearer  the  city  of 
Mardin.  Here  he  had  three  companions;  but  as 
he  wished  to  be  more  alone,  he  found  an  old, 
unused,  dry  cistern,  and  spent  much  of  his  time 
in  this  in  prayer  and  fasting. 

A  colporteur  of  the  American  mission  at  Mar- 
din,  heard  from  the  people  in  the  neighborhood 
that  a  very  holy  monk  lived  in  this  monastery 
who  never  came  to  the  village  or  mingled  with 
people.  He  expressed  a  desire  to  see  him;  but 
the  people  tried  to  dissuade  him  from  attempting 
this.  "He  will  run  from  you  like  a  wild  man 
and  will  not  talk  with  you,"  they  said.  The  col- 
porteur was  all  the  more  determined  to  see  the 
man,  and  from  time  to  time  he  would  go  to  the 
opening  in  the  top  of  the  cistern  and  throw  down 
to  Boghos  certain  passages  of  Scripture  for  him 
to  find  in  his  Bible  and  think  about  till  he  should 
come  again.  In  this  way  he  so  influenced  the 
hermit  that  he  was  willing  to  talk  with  him,  and 

175 


Missions  in  Eden 

even  to  see  Mr.  Andrus,  one  of  the  missionaries 
at  Mardin,  who  took  with  him  an  Arabic  tract, 
which  convinced  Boghos  that  his  life  of  penance 
would  neither  give  him  freedom  from  sin  nor 
peace  of  conscience. 

He  left  the  monastery,  came  to  Mardin,  and 
entered  the  school  of  Bible  study.  He  soon  gave 
evidence  that  he  was  a  real  child  of  God;  and  the 
peace  he  had  so  long  sought  in  vain,  he  found  in 
Christ,  the  sacrifice  for  sin.  He  no  longer  sought 
holiness  through  his  own  works,  but  rested  fully 
in  the  Saviour  who  could  save  him  from  all  sin. 
The  missionaries  feeling  it  wiser  to  try  him  be- 
fore admitting  him  to  church  fellowship,  sent 
him  to  one  of  their  outstations  to  labor  in  the 
market-place  among  the  men.  In  this  place  was 
a  Protestant  church  and  a  faithful  and  earnest 
pastor,  who  watched  with  fatherly  care  over 
Boghos  as  he  went  about  his  work.  He  was 
convinced  that  Boghos  was  daily  taught  of  God, 
and  was  raised  up  to  be  a  chosen  vessel  in  the 
service  of  the  church. 

The  Midyat  church  was  to  celebrate  the  Lord's 
Supper  and  several  were  to  be  received  to  mem- 
bership. He  went  to  the  Pastor  and  begged  that 
he  might  be  allowed  to  join  the  church  with 
these.     He  did  not  plead  his  fitness,  but  his  de- 

176 


Boghos  the  Hermit  and  Martyr 

sire  to  come  into  more  intimate  communion  with 
Christ's  Church.  So  earnest  was  his  plea  that 
the  Pastor,  knowing  he  was  to  unite  with  the 
Mardin  church  in  the  spring,  granted  his  desire. 
Not  long  after,  this  Pastor  was  authorized  to  go 
into  the  region  of  Jebel  Toor  to  administer  relief 
to  the  starving  people.  For  several  years  the 
locust  had  destroyed  every  green  thing.  He  felt 
that  Boghos  would  be  just  the  one  to  help  in  this 
work.  The  people  would  welcome  him  as  the 
hermit  who  once  lived  among  them.  But  when 
they  recognized  him,  they  were  filled  with  rage 
and,  had  not  the  Pastor  protected  him,  would 
have  torn  him  to  pieces.  Was  he  not  the  holy 
hermit  who  had  dared  to  leave  his  work  and 
come  into  the  society  of  sinful  men  ?  Surely 
God's  curse  must  rest  upon  such  an  one. 

Boghos  afterward  graduated  from  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary  in  Mardin  and  was  sent  to  work 
in  the  village  of  Amas  near  Midyat,  where  he  had 
joined  the  church.  He  was  earnest  and  untiring 
in  his  work  and  beloved  by  the  people.  During 
his  short  stay  eleven  were  brought  to  Christ  and 
united  with  the  church  at  Midyat. 

His  father  and  mother  being  quite  aged  ear- 
nestly besought  him  to  return  to  Harpoot,  where 
he  could  find  work  and  be  near  them.     He  ob- 

177 


Missions  in  Eden 

tained  the  consent  of  the  missionaries,  who  had 
educated  him  for  the  Syrian  work,  and  with  a  sad 
heart  bade  them,  his  Syrian  friends,  and  the  work, 
farewell. 

When  he  returned  to  Harpoot  he  found  that  he 
had  forgotten  much  of  his  Armenian,  having  used 
Arabic  and  Syriac  while  away.  He  asked  to  en- 
ter the  Theological  Seminary  at  Harpoot  and  take 
up  the  Bible  Study,  feeling  this  would  be  the 
best  way  to  regain  his  knowledge  of  Armenian. 
This  being  the  language  of  his  boyhood,  he  soon 
came  to  use  it  fluently. 

After  spending  some  time  in  the  Seminary,  he 
was  able  to  go  out  on  the  Sabbath  to  preach  in 
some  of  the  many  villages  on  the  Harpoot  plain. 
The  church  in  Hulakegh  had  lost  its  Pastor,  and 
Sabbath  after  Sabbath  he  was  called  to  this  vil- 
lage. Soon  a  committee  waited  on  the  mission- 
aries and  asked  that  he  might  come  permanently 
to  their  village.  The  whole  village  seemed  to 
wake  up  at  his  enthusiastic  way  of  working. 
Every  man,  woman  and  child  seemed  to  have 
felt  his  touch,  and  all  were  anxious  to  please  him. 
The  women  had  been  inclined  to  gossip  in  the 
church  after  service.  He  so  thoroughly  put  an 
end  to  this  that  once,  when  a  lady  missionary 
who  was  visiting  the  village  asked  a  question  of 

178 


Boghos  the  Hermit  and  Martyr 

one  of  the  women  in  leaving  the  church,  the 
woman  put  her  finger  on  her  lips  and  made  no 
reply.  On  reaching  the  door,  she  said  "Our 
preacher  does  not  wish  us  to  talk  in  church.  He 
does  not  think  it  reverent." 

Well  do  we  remember  with  what  hostility  this 
village  received  the  first  missionary  who  came  to 
it.  The  hired  room  was  filled  almost  to  suffoca- 
tion; but  at  that  time  all  were  hostile  and  would 
gladly  have  placed  the  missionary  on  a  donkey, 
with  his  face  toward  the  tail,  and  hooted  him 
out  of  the  village.  The  only  thing  that  restrained 
them  was  the  fear  that  the  Turkish  government 
would  call  them  to  account.  They  cut  off  the 
tail  of  the  missionary's  horse  and  then,  as  if  that 
was  not  enough,  they  thrust  a  lewd  Turkish 
woman  into  the  room  where  the  missionary  was 
spending  the  night,  calling  out,  "Look!  See! 
what  kind  of  company  this  Prote  missionary 
keeps." 

But  none  of  these  things  moved  the  mission- 
ary. Again  and  again  he  went  with  his  Bible  to 
teach  in  this  village.  Some  of  the  best,  most 
respected  and  worthy  men,  became  readers  of 
the  Bible,  and  a  strong  Protestant  community 
grew  up. 

It  was  to  this  village  that  our  Syrian  monk  had 

179 


Missions  in  Eden 

a  call.  He  did  not  disappoint  the  missionaries, 
but  entered  with  his  whole  soul  into  this  work. 
They  had  built  a  new  church,  and  instead  of  the 
low,  black  room  where  the  missionary  had  staid, 
a  clean,  well-built  parsonage,  with  several  rooms, 
was  erected.  The  young  men  were  thoroughly 
awake  and  felt  that  God  had  sent  them  just  the 
right  man  to  work  with  them.  So  they  gave 
Boghos  a  unanimous  call  to  be  their  Pastor. 

While  in  the  Seminary  at  Harpoot,  Boghos  had 
heard  of  a  young  lady  teacher  in  the  college  who 
was  the  daughter  of  a  Palu  merchant  in  the  city. 
This  merchant  was  noted  for  his  Puritanical 
ideas,  which,  under  certain  circumstances,  would 
have  made  him  a  hermit.  Boghos  was  known 
as  a  very  earnest,  straightforward  Christian. 
He  was  a  good  preacher,  and  his  very  manner 
made  you  feel  that  his  earnest  words  came  from 
an  earnest  soul.  The  merchant  was  much  inter- 
ested in  him,  and  would  have  gladly  called  him 
to  be  his  own  Pastor,  if  the  calling  had  been  left 
to  him.  The  notice  and  kindness  of  the  mer- 
chant made  Boghos  feel  that  his  daughter  Mar- 
iam  was  just  the  one  he  needed  to  help  him  in 
his  work  of  the  ministry.  His  mother  had  died, 
and  his  father  and  little  brother  would  live  with 
him,   and  he  ought   to  be  married  before  his 

180 


Boghos  the  Hermit  and  Martyr 

ordination.  Should  he  ask  for  this  successful 
young  teacher  in  the  College  ?  The  father  might 
be  willing  to  give  her;  but  would  she  accept  a 
man  who  had  for  some  years  lived  as  a  hermit? 
She  an  Armenian,  he  a  Syrian  ?  Would  she  ex- 
change her  place  as  a  College  teacher  to  be  the 
wife  of  a  Pastor  in  a  peasant  village  ? 

He  must  have  prayed  much  over  this  whole 
question  before  he  sent  a  mutual  friend  to  ask 
the  merchant  for  the  hand  of  his  accomplished 
daughter.  The  father's  and  mother's  consent 
was  obtained.  This  was  a  very  important  step, 
but  not  a  decision.  The  young  lady  was  educated 
and  old  enough  to  decide  for  herself.  Custom 
forbade  the  young  man's  asking  for  himself; 
this  must  be  done  through  one  of  the  American 
teachers,  or  some  older  friend. 

We  would  not  draw  aside  the  veil  that  shuts 
out  the  struggles  and  prayers  of  this  sensible 
young  Christian;  but  we  may  be  assured  that  it 
was  not  a  hasty  decision  that  led  her  to  leave  her 
place  in  the  College,  her  parents,  and  her  privi- 
leges in  the  city,  to  make  her  home  in  an  oil  vil- 
lage. 

We  may  say  that  the  beautiful  girl  became  a 
more  beautiful  bride,  with  a  new  and  sweeter 
joy  on  the  bright  face,   and  side  by  side  with 

181 


Missions  in  Eden 

Boghos,  labored  in  the  village  church  where  she 
was  as  much  loved  as  her  husband,  and  where 
she  found  a  work  and  influence  that  called 
forth  her  gratitude  to  God  for  her  Christian  edu- 
cation. 

The  harvest  was  gathered  in,  the  repairs  on  the 
church  finished,  and  the  people  were  impatient 
for  the  ordination  of  Boghos.  The  time  was  fixed 
and  the  letters  of  invitation  sent  to  the  churches. 

Then  strange  rumors  floated  on  the  air.  Many 
believed  that  the  Turks  and  Kurds  were  prepar- 
ing for  a  wholesale  slaughter  of  the  Armenians. 
Friendly  Kurds  and  Turks  even  told  the  Arme- 
nians to  be  ready  for  such  an  outbreak.  The 
father  of  Mariam,  knowing  that  the  village  of 
Hulakegh  was  wholly  Armenian,  felt  that  the 
danger  might  be  greater  there  than  in  places 
where  the  population  was  mixed,  and  went  to 
bring  his  daughter  to  the  city.  He  found  her  so 
brave  that  he  would  not  uuge  her  to  leave. 

When  village  after  village  was  attacked  and 

left  only  a  smouldering  ruin,  many  of  the  people 

being  slain  and  the  rest  left  homeless  wanderers, 

the   people  of   Hulakegh  came  to    Boghos  and 

begged  him  to  flee  with  his  wife  to  the  city  to 

her  father's  house.     But  he  refused  to  think  of 

such  a  thing. 

182 


Boghos  the  Hermit  and  Martyr 

"Shall  I  flee  from  my  flock  in  a  time  ot 
danger?" 

"You  will  be  the  one  they  will  first  kill,  and 
who  will  care  for  your  wife  ?  We  would  rather 
you  were  spared  to  comfort  us  after  the  storm 
has  passed.  The  city  will  not  be  attacked.  Go, 
take  your  wife  to  her  father's  house  and  after- 
ward you  can  come  back  to  us." 

So  earnest  were  their  entreaties,  in  which  they 
were  joined  by  his  aged  father,  who  said,  "lam 
old,  they  will  spare  me  though  they  rob  the 
house;  come,  I  entreat  of  you  both,  come  while 
you  can,"  that  when  they  brought  animals  and  an 
escort,  they  consented  to  be  hurried  off  to  her 
father's  house  which  they  reached  in  safety. 

Soon  after  the  Turks  and  Kurds  entered  the 
village.  The  people,  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren, fled  to  Mezereh,  (some  three  miles  away) 
the  seat  of  the  Pashalic,  where  the  civil  and 
military  Pashas  resided,  and  only  a  few  lost 
their  lives.  The  village  was  plundered,  but  only 
a  portion  of  it  was  burned.  So  when  the  vil- 
lagers returned,  most  of  them  found  their  empty 
houses  left  to  them. 

During  this  time,  what  is  happening  at  Harpoot 
where  the  preacher  and  his  wife  have  fled  ?  The 
principal  Turks  assured  the  missionaries  that  no 

183 


Missions  in  Eden 

harm  should  come  to  the  city.  "Can  you  not 
trust  us  when  we  tell  you  there  is  no  danger!" 
they  exclaimed.  (When  asked  afterward  why 
they  did  not  keep  their  word,  they  replied,  "The 
Koran  does  not  require  us  to  keep  our  word  to  an 
infidel.") 

Every  preparation  seemed  made  to  protect  the 
city.  Cannon  were  placed  in  such  a  position 
that  they  could  be  used.  Soldiers  and  officers 
were  in  the  streets.  The  bugle  sounded  at  inter- 
vals, assuring  the  people  that  all  was  right. 
Rough  looking  men  were  straggling  up  the  val- 
leys; many  seemed  skulking  about  the  hills  or 
behind  the  rocky  heights  upon  which  part  of  the 
city  is  built.  An  awful  stillness  hung  over  us. 
Officers  were  entering  Christian  houses  to  take 
away  any  weapons  that  might  be  found  in  them. 
Thus  the  Sabbath  passed. 

Some  Christians  sought  refuge  in  the  homes  of 
friendly  Turks  ;  some  hung  the  white  cloth  out- 
side their  doors.  Friendly  Turks  were  known  to 
write  in  large  letters  on  the  doors  of  their  neigh- 
bors sentences  which  served  to  keep  out  the 
plunderer  and  assassin.  Many  fled  to  the  homes 
of  the  missionaries. 

Monday  came.  A  few  shots  were  heard  and  it 
was  said,  "The  Kurds  have  come!"  but  a  few 

184 


Boghos  the  Hermit  and  Martyr 

regulars  soon  scattered  them.  A  little  after  mid- 
day, at  the  sound  of  the  bugle,  we  saw  the 
Kurdish  and  Turkish  mob  rushing  up  the  valleys 
and  over  the  hills  with  the  cry,  "Ash!  Ash!" 
(Forward,  Forward.)  The  cannon,  turned  upon 
the  helpless  city,  roared  destruction;  rifle  shots 
filled  the  air;  houses  were  entered,  robbed  and 
set  on  fire.  The  plain  was  a  sea  of  smoke,  with 
lurid  flames  starting  up  in  many  places.  Men 
and  women  laden  with  spoils  were  leaving  the 
city.  The  houses  in  the  west  quarter  were  fired. 
The  homes  of  the  missionaries  and  the  beautiful 
Girls'  College,  were  in  flames. 

But  where  are  Boghos  and  Mariam  ?  The 
house  of  the  father-in-law  of  Boghos  was  in  a 
Turkish  neighborhood.  The  Turks  and  Kurds 
rushed  to  the  windows  and  demanded  that  the 
doors  be  opened.  They  threw  many  things 
from  the  windows,  hoping  to  satisfy  the  mob; 
but  they  soon  began  to  break  open  the  doors. 
As  Boghos  and  his  father-in-law  went  to  open 
them  they  were  fired  upon.  Mariam,  who  was 
praying  in  an  upper  room,  rushed  to  their  aid, 
when  a  bullet  struck  her  in  the  head.  Her  hus- 
band caught  her  in  his  arms,  crying,  "My  Iamb." 
She  replied,  "  I  am  no  longer  your  lamb;  1  go  to 
be  with  Jesus,"  and  expired  in  his  arms.     Her 

185 


Missions  in  Eden 

younger  sister  clasped  the  bleeding  father  and 
received  a  sword  thrust  in  her  back,  from  which 
in  a  few  hours  she  died;  but  her  father  was 
spared.  The  house  was  robbed;  but  being  in  a 
Turkish  quarter  was  not  burned.  The  family 
were  left  with  their  dead  and  wounded. 

Next  day  their  Syrian  friends,  at  the  risk  of 
their  lives,  removed  them  and  their  dead  to  the 
house  of  Boghos'  father.  This  had  as  yet  been 
spared,  for  the  Syrians  had  received  a  promise 
that  they  should  not  be  molested. 

Toward  evening  the  son  of  a  high  Turkish 
officer,  accompanied  by  a  Turkish  moolah,  rode 
through  that  quarter  of  the  city  and  offered  de- 
liverance to  any  who  would  confess  Islam.  No 
one  answered  the  cry. 

When  they  entered  the  house  where  Boghos 
and  his  family  were,  Boghos  said  to  his  friends, 
"1  wished  to  die  yesterday  with  my  dear  wife. 
What  is  there  for  me  now  she  is  gone,  save  to 
comfort  you!  "  A  Turk  rushed  up  to  him,  shout- 
ing "Selamet!  Selamet!"  (Confess  Islam!)  He 
made  no  reply  and  they  shot  him  standing  near 
his  dead  wife.  His  father  and  brother  had 
fallen  just  outside  the  door.  This  was  only  one 
of  the  scenes  of  crime  and  suffering  in  poor 
Armenia.      Boghos    and   Mariam    "were  beau- 

186 


Boghos  the  Hermit  and  Martyr 

tiful  in  their  lives,  and  in  death  they  were  not 
divided." 

The  poor  father  had  deep  lines  of  sorrow  on 
his  face,  but  never  regretted  that  he  gave  his 
children  to  God.  He  has  been  a  most  earnest 
worker  with  the  relief  corps;  one  upon  whom 
they  could  depend  to  expend  large  sums  of 
money.  The  mantle  of  his  children  seems  to 
have  fallen  upon  him ;  for  out  of  a  full  heart  he 
dispenses  food  for  soul  and  body. 

The  church  in  Hulakegh  will  never  forget 
Boghos  and  Mariam.  They  remember  their 
words,  their  deeds,  their  death.  They  are  less  in 
numbers;  but  we  hope  more  earnest  and  spirit- 
ual through  their  great  affliction.  No  one  fills 
the  empty  pastorate;  but  the  Great  Shepherd  is 
not  unmindful  of  this  shepherdless  flock. 

How  can  1  better  close  this  little  book,  than  to 
quote  from  a  recent  letter  of  the  Rev.  C.  F. 
Gates,  D.  D.,  President  of  Euphrates  College: 

Palu,  Jan.  14,  1898. 
Dear  Friends: — 

The  second  day  after  the  close  of 
school  for  the  winter  vacation,  I  started  on  a  re- 
lief tour  to  this  place.  Two  hours  out  from  Har- 
poot  we  encountered  a  dense  fog  in  which  we 

187 


Missions  in  Eden 

travelled  all  the  way.  It  froze  wherever  it 
touched  us,  so  that  soon  it  became  difficult  to 
open  my  mouth  because  of  the  icicles  on  mous- 
tache and  beard.  We  reached  Shukhaji,1  a  vil- 
lage near  the  Euphrates,  at  four  in  the  afternoon. 
1  talked  to  these  villagers  about  feeding  on  the 
Bible  and  being  taught  of  God,  now  that  they 
have  no  preacher. 

Wednesday,  Jan.  15th,  the  texts  in  "Daily 
Light  on  the  Daily  Path,"  were  singularly  com- 
forting and  precious  to  me.  The  first  was, 
"Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace  whose 
mind  is  stayed  on  thee,  because  he  trusteth  in 
thee."  This  text  I  had  chosen  for  the  motto  of 
this  journey.  Another  was,  "In  quietness  and 
confidence  shall  be  your  strength.  Another, 
"Cast  your  burden"  (Margin  r.  v.  "that  He 
hath  given  thee")  "on  the  Lord  and  He  shall 
sustain  thee.  He  shall  never  suffer  the  righteous 
to  be  moved."  I  felt  I  could  claim  this  text  be- 
cause the  journey  and  work  were  given  me  by 
the  Lord. 

We  reached  the  Euphrates  at  eleven  in  the 
forenoon.  The  animals  were  led  into  the  boat 
and  we  put  off  for  the  other  shore;  but  the  boat 
went  down  stream,  sticking  on  a  sand  bar 
some  distance  from  the  shore.  The  boatmen 
could  not  get  her  off,  and  said,  "You  must  get 

1  This  village  suffered  frightfully  during  the  massacres  ;  many  fled  into 
the  mountains  suffering  intensely  from  cold  and  hunger  until  driven  back  to 
their  homes,  where  the  Turk  met  them  and  forced  many  to  outwardly  em- 
brace Mohammedanism  ;  but  they  all  turned  back  as  soon  as  the  pressure 
was  removed. 

183 


Boghos  the  Hermit  and  Martyr 

your  animals  to  the  shore."  The  horses  would 
not  plunge  into  the  ice-flow.  I  had  my  horse 
brought  from  the  other  end  of  the  boat,  mounted 
him,  and  while  the  men  were  all  protesting  that 
he  could  not  get  out  with  me  upon  his  back,  I 
spoke  to  him;  the  splendid  creature  waited  on 
the  edge  of  the  boat  for  the  floating  ice  to  pass 
by;  the  people  in  the  boat  held  their  peace,  for  a 
wonder;  then,  with  a  bound,  he  sprang  into  the 
current,  crashing  through  the  ice,  reaching  the 
shore  in  safety.  This  feat  was  the  marvel  of  the 
village  that  night. 

We  spent  hours  trying  to  get  the  loads  and 
animals  to  the  shore.  One  donkey  and  one  mule 
went  headlong  into  the  water.  For  five  hours  I 
tramped  up  and  down  the  shore  trying  to  keep 
myself  and  horse  warm;  but  the  peace  of  God 
was  with  me.  "Thou  shalt  keep  him  in  perfect 
peace."  "In  quietness  and  confidence  shall  be 
your  strength."  Praise  the  Lord!  He  kept  me 
in  perfect  peace.  I  did  not  utter  one  impatient 
word,  nor  was  my  mind  disturbed  all  day. 

My  man  got  his  feet  wet,  his  stockings  froze 
so  he  could  not  draw  his  shoes  off,  and  his  toes 
were  frost-bitten.  Others  had  their  hands  and 
feet  frost-bitten;  but  all  escaped  without  serious 
injury. 

We  are  now  safely  in  Palu;  but  the  weather  is 
bitter  cold.  It  is  not  apparent  how  we  shall  re- 
lieve the  villages  on  the  Palu  plain;  but  I  am  con- 
fident that  God,  who  called  us  and  brought  us,  will 

189 


Missions  in  Eden 

also  lead  us.     "  For  our  God  is  a  God  of  de- 
liverances." 

During  the  massacre  in  this  city,  Hagop 
Shughloian  was  seized  and  called  upon  to  accept 
Islam.  He  begged  his  captors  to  kill  his  two 
sons  first.  They  brought  the  older  and  laid  him 
before  the  father.  There,  with  the  knife  drawn 
to  cut  his  throat,  they  again  called  upon  the 
father  to  accept  Islam;  but  he  exhorted  his  son 
never  to  deny  Christ,  and  the  boy  died.  Then 
they  brought  the  younger  son  and  renewed  their 
appeals  to  the  father  to  accept  Islam;  but  he 
called  to  his  boy,  "  Look  up  to  Christ!  "  and  this 
son  also  was  sacrificed.  Again  they  turned  to 
the  father;  but  he  laid  himself  at  their  feet,  say- 
ing, "I  have  sent  my  two  sons  to  Christ,  now  / 
can  go  in  peace." 

This  man's  starving  widow  was  one  to  whom 
God  was  sending  His  missionary  servant.  In  this 
city,  and  in  the  forty-three  villages  on  Palu  plain, 
were  many  other  widows  whose  husbands  and 
sons  had  been  slaughtered  because  they  believed 
in  Christ. 

Sometimes  we  have  asked,  Would  it  not  have 
been  better  for  these  widows  and  orphans  who 
are  left,  to  have  died  with  their  fathers,  sons  and 
brothers  ? 

"  Our  intellects  cannot  reach  up  to  God,"  is  an 
expression  I  have  often  heard  in  Armenia,  and  I 

190 


< 

z 

< 


D 
3 


2 

< 


Boghos  the  Hermit  and  Martyr 

confess,  I  often  find  myself  hiding  behind  it.  I 
know  God  makes  no  mistakes.  In  the  building 
up  of  Christ's  kingdom,  there  is  really  no  retro- 
grade movement;  but  we  must  take  some  things 
on  trust.  The  Bible  teaches  that  the  faith  that 
can  do  this,  honors  God,  and  He  will  even  put 
this  to  our  account. 

This  is  not  the  first  time  that  the  soil  of  Arme- 
nia has  been  wet  with  the  blood  of  Christian 
children.  She  seemed  in  this  nineteenth  century 
just  to  be  forgetting  what  she  suffered  a  few 
centuries  ago.  Her  schools,  her  churches,  told 
of  happy  days  in  the  future.  She  was  awaking 
to  new  life  and  energy.  Her  sons  and  daughters 
were  beginning  to  stand  side  by  side  with  those 
of  occidental  nations,  and  the  glad  parents  were 
learning  to  make  many  sacrifices  on  their  behalf. 

We  in  this  land  of  a  government  that  cares  for 
the  education  of  all  her  children,  can  little  realize 
what  the  schools  opened  by  Christian  mission- 
aries meant  to  the  down-trodden,  but  quick  and 
sensitive  Armenians.  How  often  they  thanked 
God  that  in  far-away  America,  He  had  raised 
them  up  so  many  kind  friends.  Their  earlier 
persecutions  made  them  a  religious  people. 
There  are  many  things  in  their  history  that 
strongly  remind  the  missionary  of  his  own  Pil- 

191 


Missions  in  Eden 

grim  Fathers,  who  were  ready  to  give  up  all 
worldly  gain  for  the  privilege  of  worshipping 
God  as  the  Bible  taught  them,  and  of  training 
their  children  amid  such  privileges. 

Many  of  the  Pastors,  preachers  and  teachers 
have  fallen  before  the  sword  of  the  Moslem. 
Many  more  have  left  behind  them  the  country 
they  loved  and  for  which  they  would  willingly 
have  given  their  lives,  could  they  thus  have  de- 
livered it  from  the  hand  of  the  oppressor.  Thou- 
sands still  remain,  scattered  like  sheep  upon  their 
mountains.  It  was  for  such  that  Dr.  Gates  went 
through  cold  and  ice,  and  the  danger  of  a  half 
frozen  river.  Do  you  wonder  that  he  had  "The 
peace  of  God  that  passeth  understanding  "  ?  Do 
you  wonder  that  he  obeyed  the  still,  small  voice 
which  bade  him  leave  his  college  in  the  city  and 
go  to  Palu  ? 

God  gives  us  all  the  privilege  of  partnership 
with  Himself.  Do  we  not  sometimes  forget  this 
when  we  are  tempted  to  keep  back  part  of  the 
price  ?  It  may  be  that  never  again  will  the 
church  be  called  upon  as  now  to  go  in  and  pos- 
sess the  land  which  is  Christ's  own  inheritance — 
the  land  where  He  was  born,  labored,  and  died. 
Is  Christ  to  be  defeated  in  Turkey  ?  Shall  we 
not  pray  that  our  eyes  may  be  anointed  so  we 

192 


Boghos  the  Hermit  and  Martyr 

may  look  forward  with  a  broader,  wider,  clearer 
faith,  to  the  time  when  we  shall  see  the  Turk, 
the  Kurd,  the  Armenian,  joining  hands  as  they 
kneel  about  the  cross  of  Calvary  ? 

How  sad  is  the  wail  that  comes  over  the  waters! 
Stop,  listen,  and  hear  it  from  lands  far  away — 
The  cry  of  Armenia — her  poor  stricken  daughters, 
"  Dear  Christian,  delay  not,  come  help  us  to-day! 

"We  have  tasted  the  joy  that  fills  your  homes  with  gladness; 
Now  sorrow  has  entered,  peace  has  fled  far  away. 
Our  hearts  are  bowed  down  now  with  gloom  and  with  sadness, 
No  ray  of  bright  hope  lifts  the  darkness  to-day. 

"  How  long  shall  we  wait  here  with  no  one  to  help  us! 
Almost  are  we  ready  to  lie  down  and  die. 
The  foe  presses  forward,  will  God  let  him  crush  us? 
Or  will  the  light  come  from  the  great  throne  on  high  ?  " 


193 


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